Badlands
by Leserei
Summary: As Stephanie leaves the Bounty Hunting business what dangers will follow her.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was the end of the week, Friday, and normally I'd be overjoyed with that prospect, but as I walked into the bonds office I felt a tension emanating from within. You see I'm an apprehension agent, or bounty hunter, and the fact that there hadn't been any Failure to Appear was starting to get to me. It's not like I wanted to be over run with them, but at the moment a few would come in handy if I wanted to pay my bills and eat. Connie was sat at her desk but was frantically typing, she didn't even acknowledge me, and that was pretty unusual for her. Lula was sat on the couch, well laid on the couch with a magazine in front of her face. What was wrong with them this morning?

"Are you two just going to ignore me or what?"

Connie shrugged and Lula didn't move, but her eyes snuck over to the inner office door, Vinnie had pulled the door open and was looking at me.

"Stephanie, I need a word, in here"

I frowned and again looked to Connie and again she ignored me, so I followed Vinnie into his office as he closed the door behind me. Now don't get me wrong, Vinnie may be a relative on my father's side and maybe he did give me this job, but only after I blackmailed him, he was a sleazeball, and a pervert, which was how I'd threatened him in the first place. His wife Lucille wouldn't like the idea of knowing some of his perversions and Vinnie didn't want her to find out. For once Vinnie looked uncomfortable, his shifty eyes darting around the room.

"Take a seat Stephanie"

"I'll stand if you don't mind"

No way was I sitting down anywhere in here, not when I was privy to some of the sounds that came from here, especially when Joyce was around.

"I'm sorry Steph, but the office is closing, effective from Monday"

"What, why?"

"Harry is making me relocate down to Pennsylvania, he doesn't like the word out on the street about my, err, activities"

"So you and Lucille are moving?"

"Yeah, Harry has a job down there for me, under the watchful eye of some of his goons. I'm sorry Steph, I asked around at the other bonds offices but they don't need anyone. You'll be fine, you'll land on your feet"

"Land on my feet?"

I repeated what he'd said thinking back to how hard it had been just to get this job, let alone the disasters I'd had in between, like the dry cleaners and McDonalds. No one would want me with the reputation I had.

"There's some money gone into your account from Harry, kinda like a severance pay, you know to tie you over"

I walked out of the office and was met by two pairs of eyes, no wonder they didn't want to talk to me, they knew what was coming.

"Steph, you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll find something, I have to. What about you?"

"Well as much I didn't want to get involved with the family business, beggars can't be choosers, so I'm doing some admin work for my uncle"

"Lula what about you?"

"Well I just heard from my manicurist and seeing as how good I am at all that stuff, she's agreed to take me on, maybe I'll set up my own business once I get on my feet, aint no way I'm gonna go back on the streets"

Wow they had it all worked out, I was pleased for them, they deserved a break, but didn't I as well? I felt numb really, and I didn't want to talk now so I turned and opened the door.

"Give me a call so we can catch up, I need to start looking for a job"

I just drove down the street and somehow ended up outside my apartment block, what now? I needed to be positive; there'd be something for me out there. Once inside the building I went up a floor higher than mine and found a newspaper that hadn't been collected then made my way back down to my apartment. With a coffee in front of me, and the newspaper in my hands, I started to look through the job vacancies. By the time I'd finished there were only three circles on the page, so I started the arduous task of phoning first. Two were at fast food restaurants and as soon as I gave them my name they said they were sorry but the job had been filled. A local grocery store said I was too old; they wanted a college student, probably so they didn't have to pay the going rate. Sighing I put the newspaper down and looked at my watch, I realized it was nearly six and since I didn't have food in the place I decided I'd mooch dinner at my parents, I'm sure my mother would have heard by now of the office closing and was certain she'd be full of ideas for jobs for me.

I arrived just before six, and for once there was no one waiting on the doorstep, strange, the women in my family always seemed to know when to expect me. The answer hit me as soon as I walked in to the dining room; Morelli was there, grinning up at me.

"Cupcake, heard you're no longer a bounty hunter"

"That's the latest, hi mum, Grandma"

"Stephanie is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"That Vinnie's closed down?"

"Seems that way"

We all sat down to roast chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, it just didn't taste the same and I realized I wasn't eating with my normal gusto. Pudding was pineapple upside down cake; there was no way I'd miss out on that. It was during the cake eating that the inevitable talking came, starting with my mother of course.

"I hear they're taking on at the button factory Stephanie"

"Really"

"Do you want me to put in a good word with Evelyn, she's bound to help?"

"No, I'll sort my self out, thanks anyway"

"Well you need to get a job that's safe now, after all Joseph said he'd support you"

"Really"

No way was he doing anything near me, we'd had an argument about a month ago over who should clean the bathroom, he said I should, that it was a woman's job, I'd told him it was his bathroom and he could do it. Needles to say after that shouting match I'd left and hadn't spoken to him since, and to be honest I didn't miss him. There was more talk of jobs, all of which I avoided, I would never go near most of the ones she suggested, then as I was about to leave with my leftovers Morelli got up and walked out of the front door with me.

"Cupcake, you know this is an omen don't you"

"What is Joe?"

"Well now you're no longer a bounty hunter you can come live with me, I'll look after you"

"Really"

I think that was my new favorite word tonight.

"Yeah, I'll pay the bills and you can look after the house"

"Not happening, I told you after the last argument that we're through"

"But you could marry me, like we always said we'd do, and you wouldn't need to get a job"

I smiled at him and watched as his face took on that predatory look, with his soft bedroom eyes and a grin highlighting the dimple in his cheeks. He did look handsome, he was a good man, was I just being stupid for not wanting what he wanted?

"How's about we finish those leftovers at my place, and maybe watch a game. Bob misses you"

That was his undoing, his way of saying lets have sex, that was not going to happen and then I remembered the talk going on with Lula and Connie about Joe and a petite blonde who was a waitress at one of the local bars.

"Why Joe, little Natasha busy tonight, I don't think so"

At least he looked a tad ashamed at what I'd said.

"It's not what you think, Cupcake"

"Doesn't matter Joe, I'm going home, on my own"

By now we'd reached the cars parked on the street, as I opened the door to get in I noticed my mother peering out through the window, yeah she thought she'd set me up to get back with Joe, well mother, no more interfering with my life, I'd find a way to get through this on my own. I drove back to my apartment, I was resigned to be on the Internet most of the night chasing up jobs and doing online applications. I also needed to write a CV and print copies out, tomorrow could be a long day. The light on my phone was blinking when I got home, strange, I wasn't sure who would leave a message there, then as I checked my mobile I realized it was flat. I pressed the button to play the message and almost sank to my knees at the voice that came through.

"Hi Babe, I think you need to charge your mobile up, so I'm leaving a message here instead. I know I said I'd be gone a few weeks checking up with the other offices, but something's come up and I may not be around for a while. If you need anything then talk to Tank, Babe, don't hesitate; you know he'll help you. Please take care and I'll see you when I get back, I promise"

Well that wouldn't be happening, ironic that now I wasn't doing the bounty hunting I wouldn't need to talk to Tank, yeah I'd worked at Rangeman in the past, but that was always because Ranger insisted, he knew when I needed the work, but this was different, I couldn't ask for a job there any more without it being a pity job. Would I still see Ranger when he got back, now that our paths wouldn't cross, could our friendship still carry on? I didn't know and I felt a loss with that thought. Ranger was someone I could call my best friend, someone I trusted with my life, just not with my heart. I couldn't be a fuck buddy for anyone, neither Morelli nor Ranger. I needed to find a job, make new friends and get on with my life, but oh god, I would miss my Merry Men, but most of all I'd miss Ranger. I changed out the tape in the answer machine, call me sentimental, but that might be the last time I heard his voice and I wanted to replay it when I felt down. Now I needed to look for a job. I spent several hours uploading my CV onto job applications, then printed out as many copies as my ink would allow. I couldn't afford to replace it so hopefully there would be enough copies. As the last page printed I bundled the copies into a file for tomorrow, I'd mapped out where I wanted to go and with which companies to leave them with. Bed was calling my name; I was tired and just needed to sleep.

I'd set the alarm early so that I could get ready and head out, a shower and makeup, not too much, and dressed in a trouser suit and blouse I made my way down the stairs. I was walking, no point in wasting money I didn't have on gas. I'd worn flat boots so set out to canvass the businesses on my list. By mid afternoon my enthusiasm had waned, I'd left my CV with lots of places, but the look on their faces told me I shouldn't hold my breath for a response. I'd kept back one copy of my CV in case I decided to get some more photocopied. I was a few miles from home in an area I didn't really know and spied an ice cream van by a park. Why not, I'd worked hard today, my feet were aching and I needed something to cheer me up. The park was bigger than I realized as I wondered across the grass toward a bench by a lake with an ice cream cone in my hand. It was pretty here, and quiet, with only a few people walking their dogs or playing with their children. As I sat down to finish my cone a few ducks waddled over, they looked hopeful for a handout, so I broke the bottom off my cone and gave a small piece to the nearest one. Suddenly the ducks backed away and I looked up to see why, sat next to me on the seat was a young girl.

"Hi, can I feed the ducks with you?"

"Sure, hold this piece out to one of them"

She was looking really nervous at that suggestion, so I held her hand with the piece of cone while one of the ducks came forward and snatched the food away.

"You want to try on your own now?"

She nodded to me and held out her hand. I watched as another came forward and this time took the food more gently. I looked at the girl sat next to me; she was maybe 8 or 9, with long brown hair plaited down her back, pale blue eyes and pale skin. She looked so serious as she studied the ducks.

"Have you never fed the ducks before?"

She shook her head, not saying a word.

"Would you like to feed them more?"

She turned and gave me a beautiful smile and nodded.

"Here you go, that's the last of the food though"

I watched as she very carefully held out her hand and saw her smile reappear as the ducks proceeded to eat.

"Thank you, that was fun"

"Do you come here often?"

"No, but Aden said we had time today"

"Who's Aden?"

"He's that man over there watching out for me"

I turned to look over my shoulder and sure enough there was a man stood there. He looked to be about my age, with dark skin and dark hair. He had the stance of one of the Merry Men when they went into bodyguard mode, I wonder if that is what he is, her body guard.

"What's your name, I'm called Mia?"

"Stephanie, but most people call me Steph. That's a real pretty name Mia"

"I'm named after my mother, Maria, but she died when I was born so she's not here anymore"

"I'm sorry Mia, it must be hard for you"

"Not really, I never knew her, but daddy's told me about her"

There was the sound of a car behind us and I turned to see a black Bentley pull up, the tinted windows blocking out who ever was inside. I turned back to Mia to realize she'd stood up.

"Steph, thanks for letting me feed the ducks with you, but I need to go now"

I stood with her and as she walked toward the car the back window came down, a man looked out directly at me then turned and smiled at Mia.

"Mia, come, we need to go home"

She ran to the car and as the door opened she started to get in, then turned to me and smiled, giving me a wave before she disappeared. I liked that kid, there was something about her, she wasn't rude or arrogant like some kids I know are and she really seemed to enjoy our short time together. I finger waved at the car as it pulled out onto the road and then turned back to the path as I realized I had a long walk ahead of me just to get home. I took my time walking, and actually enjoyed the freedom to just play around with the thoughts in my head. If I forgot that I had no job, then I felt quite content, I wonder how much severance pay Harry gave me, something to find out in the morning. The apartment was quiet when I got home, but the answering machine light was blinking, I'd forgotten to switch my mobile back on after the last visit job hunting. My heart hitched; maybe Ranger had called again, don't be stupid Stephanie; he said he'd be away for weeks if not longer. He'd obviously gone into the wind; saving a country or stopping a coup, I worried about him. The message when I got to it was from Morelli.

"Cupcake, would you meet me for lunch tomorrow, we need to talk"

I now hated that name and everything it stood for, I felt it demeaned me because of how Morelli had come up with it. I went for an option that avoided having to talk to him, switching on my phone I waited for the pings of texts and voicemails to stop, then sent him a short reply "No, sorry busy" A look at my phone showed voicemail from my mother and Morelli, I deleted the ones from Morelli and called my mother.

"Hi mum, why did you message?"

"Don't you listen to those messages?"

"No, that's why I'm calling"

"Well, Joseph came by today to talk to your father, you know to ask his permission to marry you"

"Mum, I've told you, I'm not marrying him, so forget it"

"But Stephanie, he may be your last chance, you're not getting any younger and he's a good man"

"No, no, no. Stop it mum, I'll find someone and if not then it doesn't matter, I won't marry someone again just to please you"

There was a silence on the other end and I knew I'd hit the right spot with that comment.

"All right, I'll leave you to decide, just remember I'm here if you change your mind and want help with the wedding'

"Bye mum"

I was annoyed, how dare he think if he got my parents on his side that I'd change my mind, the scumbag. I decided that I needed to soak in the tub to soothe the ache in my legs and feet, so made sure the doors were bolted and soaked in fragrant vanilla scented

water; to be honest I almost fell asleep I was that relaxed. Dressed in one of Rangers T-shirts and a pair of shorts I made my way to the fridge to take out some of the left overs from last night. Chicken, mash and gravy, oh well, it was that or nothing. As I waited for the microwave to ping I noticed that a piece of paper had been slid under the door. Curious I tip toed over there and picked it up. Strange, it was a cream envelope with my name on it, inside was a folded sheet made from the same expensive paper as the envelope. I was so curious as to what it said I remained by the door and carefully opened it.

"Miss. Plum. My daughter was very taken with you after your meeting in the park; it isn't often that someone can make her smile. I have a position in my household as a companion/chaperone for Mia. She is very excited that you would consider it. A car will pick you up at 10am for us to discuss this position. Mr. E Burhan"

Was this for real, was he offering me a job? Surely he wouldn't use his daughter to trick me, would he? Food forgotten I grabbed my laptop and put his name into the Google search, I didn't realize how many people shared that name, so there was no way to find out who he was, I'd just have to trust my instincts and at the moment they were saying that I liked Mia, so why not just go along and meet him? That decided I removed the now just warm left overs from the microwave and decided that I couldn't stomach it and went with finishing the cake instead. Now to decide on what to wear for this meeting, he obviously had money, so I needed to look smart but casual.

I was stood panicking slightly outside the rear entrance to my apartment at 9.55. I'd woken up at 6 and couldn't get back to sleep. I needed the time though to decide on how to look. In the end I'd gone with a deep blue woolen dress with three quarter sleeves and a cowl neck, the hem just above my knee. I'd plaited my hair into a braid and only used a small amount of makeup. I felt good as I'd looked at my reflection, but now I was having second thoughts. Too late, the Bentley glided to a stop in front of me and the driver got out to open the back door for me. I'm sure it was the man from the park yesterday; Aden was what Mia had called him. I sank into the plush leather seats and relaxed as he drove us out of the car park and onto the main road. We seemed to travel for hours but it was in fact only thirty minutes before we turned off the road and through tall gates into the grounds of a very large house. The house was a large stone building with a double door in the middle. It was so big it was almost ugly; yet there was an old world feel to the place. There were plants and flowers arranged in pots at the front and a lawn that was beautifully manicured, the windows were spotless and the paintwork looked fresh. I was staring out of the window and jumped slightly when Aden opened the door for me. Don't gawk; act like you belong, so with a smile at Aden I proceeded up the steps and through a door into an elegant lobby. Aden took me by my elbow and guided me through another door into a large room.

"Mr. Burhan will be with you shortly"

Then he was gone, leaving me to look around at my surroundings. The whole place screamed money, from the plush beige carpet to the leather couches and brown drapes. There was a portrait above the fireplace that drew my eye but before I could get a closer look a man entered the room.

"Miss. Plum, I presume?"

"Yes, Mr. Burhan?"

"Indeed, please take a seat and then we can discuss the position I mentioned to you"

I sat in one of the single chairs, perched on the edge, not wanting to look as though I was getting too comfy; he sat in the opposite chair and sat back with a knee lifted across the other, I was feeling nervous and had to hold my hands together on my knee, is this for real? Could I do this?

"Miss. Plum, my daughter was very much taken with you yesterday and that doesn't happen very often. I've tried various nannies and companions but they just haven't got along with her. Believe me when she wants to be a cantankerous child she can be. So I'm looking for someone who will spend their time with her. She has a private tutor, and a trainer, but she needs the companionship of a woman. The post would require you start at 7 am and finish at 7pm, eat with her, help her to dress and bathe then accompany her through her scheduled lessons, and of course provide some leisure activities"

I sat and questioned myself, not my usual type of role, but why not give it a try? This could be a job that was safe and secure, no stalkers or attackers, and I did like Mia. So nothing ventured nothing gained, if it didn't work out I'd not loose anything.

"Miss. Plum?"

"Sorry, just thinking it through. Would I get any days off?"

"Of course, maybe we can play that by ear, unless you have something specific that happens on a particular day?"

"No, nothing routinely planned"

"Well then why don't you start now, Mia is excited to see you, Aden will take you home tonight, you can get used to the house and meet the other staff"

"Mr. Burhan, do you have a uniform or dress attire?"

"I'll get Ms. Randall to sort that out for you"

"Thank you Mr. Burhan for giving me this opportunity"

I extended my hand out to shake his and was surprised when he held on a to it little too long, it gave me an opportunity to really look at him. He looked maybe older than me and had dark skin with a complexion that had obviously seen acne as a kid, dark brown eyes but there was no warmth to them, he was slightly taller than me and obviously worked out by the feel of his hand and the way he carried his body. He let go and then took my elbow to lead me through the door.

"Yeah!"

"Mia that is no way for a young lady to greet someone. Take Stephanie upstairs and show her around, then make sure Ms. Randall meets her at lunchtime"

He turned to me after basically telling Mia off.

"I work most days Miss. Plum so you'll probably not see me, good day"

He left through the front door, but what I felt was strange was that he never once showed any affection toward Mia. I followed an excited Mia up the stairs and into her bedroom, or should I say suite of rooms. She had her own lounge, playroom, study room and bedroom. The opulence that I'd found in the downstairs room continued here, her closet was as big as my apartment and her bathroom, oh my, a girl could spend all day pampering herself in there. I spent the rest of my morning writing out her routines, she really was kept busy, with lessons and training, and more lessons. The time allocated for leisure was between 2 and 5pm, so I'd need to work out what would best suit both of us. At lunchtime she took me downstairs and into an enormous kitchen. There was a granite worktop on three sides, white cabinets complimented the darkness of the top and there was a large range in the center of one wall with pans already simmering.

"Mia, how are you this morning, and who have you brought with you?"

"This is Steph and she's my new friend"

"Well I'm pleased to meet you Steph, call me Marta, welcome to the household. I'm sure you'll love it here. Now I'm told I need to measure you for clothing, so stand there while I get that out of the way, then we can have lunch"

I stood still as Marta seemed to measure every aspect of my body, including my feet, she recorded all the measurements in a small notebook and when she'd finished placed it in a pocket of her apron.

"You've got lovely hair, how do you normally wear it?"

"In a ponytail or if I'm going out loose in curls, unfortunately my curls can get a life of their own"

She smiled as I said it and put her hand on my hair.

"Pretty, you have beautiful eyes"

Lunch was spent chatting with Mia, she really was a character, and tried to be assertive with me. Not happening little girl, I have nieces that I've practiced on. By the end of my time at 7pm I felt shattered but was surprised at how happy I felt, yeah maybe I could do this and do it well. Aden dropped me off at the door to my building.

"I'll pick you up at 6.30, miss"

"Oh, are you sure, I have a car?

"Yes, Mr. Burhan insisted"

"Thank you, I'll see you in the morning then"

He smiled back at me then drove away leaving me to watch his tail lights disappear into the distance. Once in my apartment I didn't need to eat, so made my way into the bathroom to shower, I had some calls to make later.

"Hi mum"

"Stephanie where have you been, you've not answered your phone?"  
"Working mum, I got a job today"

"Oh, well that was quick, at the button factory?"

I don't know why but I didn't want to explain my new job to her, I felt that I'd done it on my own and didn't want to share my good news just for her to find fault with it.

"No mum, it's a good job, good pay but long hours"

"Well where is it then, is it safe?"

"Yes it's safe, how's Val doing?"

Yeah I know where her true feelings are, and it isn't with me. I chatted for a couple of minutes then feigned I had another call coming in. I chatted to Connie and Lula, they seemed to be getting on with their lives; in fact I think they'd already made new friends away from me, and it was at that moment I realized I'd already moved on. None of my friends were around, and they didn't seem to need me anymore. I wondered where Ranger was and if he would miss me, or like the others just let his life move him on. I felt alone and to some extent isolated, not a good feeling, but then change can sometimes be like taking a leap in the dark, not sure where you would land. I just hoped that this was the right thing to do.

The first week went by so quickly, I got used to waking up early and going to bed early, and the food that Marta prepared was amazing, so tasty and yes it was healthy, in fact she reminded me in some ways to Ella, always there and ready to help. The clothes she provided weren't really a uniform; they were of a higher quality than I was used to. Every set of clothes were a different color and cut, and varied from trousers to skirts and sweaters to blouses, as I checked my reflection each morning I was amazed how chic and sophisticated I looked, and there was no logo printed on anything. Except there were times I missed that logo, the black cargos and boots, but most of all I missed Ranger. The way he would raise just one eyebrow, tell me my food would kill me, his half smile, but most of all the way he made me feel when he pushed his body to mine and kissed me. Not in a lifetime could I forget that first night with him and our stay at Disney. I needed to forget about the past and as he would say, focus on the goal, and my goal was making this job work. I soon got into a routine for how the days were spent, Mia tried her moods and her stubbornness with me, but to be honest I couldn't stay mad at her for long. She was laughing more often and had a sparkle in her eyes, she and I were becoming really close; we almost depended on each other. I helped with her schoolwork, maybe I could have done better myself at school, and I even joined in with the exercise training. I never did see Mr. Burhan again, but Aden was a constant adult companion, picking me up from home and returning me in the evening. We had an easy friendship and found chatting comfortable. My mother was still leaving messages to be there for dinner so I'd arranged to have the Sunday off; I really needed to visit with my parents, catch up with all the gossip from Grandma and my least favorite task to clean my apartment and have some quality time with Rex. I arrived at 6 to both my mother and Grandmother on the doorstep.

"Hi there"

"Stephanie is that all you have to say?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"What about this new job?"

"It's a job, and I enjoy doing it, you haven't heard any gossip about me, so it must be good right?"

"Are you going to tell me about it?"

"No, I'm an adult mum and I don't need to explain everything to you"

She didn't like that, didn't like being kept in the dark.

"I don't see why Stephanie?"

"Ellen leave her be, can't you see she's happy, she's her own person, keep your nose out of her life"

Wow, Grandma could be blunt with my mother, I was pleased to see her on my side, though she always had been, it was just recently that she almost lived her life through me, I don't know why, probably since Granddad died and she came to live with my parents.

"Thanks Grandma"

"So when should I expect you to be home nowadays"  
"I'll let you know mum, I tend to vary my days off, so nothing is routine with me"

"Have you spoken with Joseph?"  
"No, and I'm not going to"

"He was interested that you got a new job"

"Good for him, but that's another reason why I won't tell anyone what the job is"

The meal was stodgy compared to what I'd got used to and my mother noticed that I wasn't really eating it.

"Stephanie, don't play with your food, eat it up"

I just looked at her and pushed the plate away from me.

"Sorry mum, but I'm not hungry, I can't seem to stomach this"

"But you've always eaten a roast with mashed potatoes and gravy"

"Sorry"

"Are you ill?"

"No, just maybe not hungry"

The visit went from bad to worse, as usual my father never said a word and as soon as he had finished his meal he was back in the lounge watching a game. Time to leave, and maybe call and see Mary Lou.

"Lou how are you, time for a chat?"

"Steph, honey, I've been worried about you, no calls or anything. You must be enjoying that new job of yours"

"Lou I'm really happy, it's better than I thought it would be"

"Well go on"

"It's so easy, well the whole job just seems to happen"

"Honey, you get on so well with people, you're a natural"

"But looking after a kid, me?"

"You would be an amazing mum, Steph, you just need to find the right man"

"Yeah, like that's gonna happen"

"It will, so is Joe still chasing after you?"

"He's chasing my mother, who is still pestering me. I haven't told a soul about this job Lou"

"Honey your secret is safe with me, pinky swear"

I knew I could count on Lou, she knew what the job was but none of the names, I felt Mia and Mr. Burhan deserved my trust and their privacy. I stayed and chatted, catching up with the latest gossip.

"Lou I know it's not late, but I have to be up early in the morning, so I need to get going, I'll call you later in the week, I promise"

"No problem, just don't forget"

I got a weird feeling as I got closer to my apartment block and for some reason decided to park away from the car park and scout it out. There at the front was Morellis truck, and the lights were on in my windows. Shit, I so did not want to speak with him. What the hell was I going to do? I waited for half an hour but he still hadn't left. It was only 9.30, normally I would call Ranger and he would always come to my rescue. He'd said to ask Tank, but I hadn't had any contact with him or the Merry Men for ages and felt that a rift was already there, so I took a gamble and called Aden.

"Hi Aden, it's Steph. Err, I've got a problem and could do with some help"

"What's happened Steph?"

"An ex of mine is inside my apartment"

"You want me to get him out?"

"He's a cop Aden, so I don't think he'd take kindly to you acting all macho with him"

"Well, how about I just pick you up and you come to the house?"

"Really?"

"Yes, can you hang on for half an hour?"

"Yes, I'll hide out in the car park"

True to his word Aden arrived just as he had said, the problem was though that Morelli came out of the back door just as I was approaching Aden's car.

"Cupcake, where are you going; come back here?"

He ran toward me grabbing hold of my arm, and then started to drag me back towards the building. I don't know who was the most surprised, Morelli, or me, but Aden had moved so quickly neither of us saw him coming. Morelli was flat out on his back, holding his nose.

"I'll do you for assaulting a police officer"

"Try it, and then try to explain why Miss. Plum has a bruise on her arm"

Aden placed his hand to the small of my back and steered me to his car, we were out of there before I could blink and on our way to the Burhan house. I felt on edge with what had happened, but what was really getting to me was that it should have been Ranger to come fetch me, to protect me, to lead me to his car with his hand at the base of my back. It almost seemed that Aden had taken over that role, and I wasn't feeling comfortable with that.

"Aden, thank you for helping"

"No problem, you know it might be better if you lived at the house"

"No, I like to have somewhere that I can call home"

"Why's that?"

"I married when I shouldn't have and then caught my husband on our new dining room table not long after. The divorce was legendary, but I lost everything, he even landed me with some of his debts. So I always said to myself that I would have somewhere that was mine to call home, somewhere no one could throw me out of"

"Wow, I can see where you're coming from"

We drove in silence after that and he dropped me off at the front door, Marta was waiting for me and showed me up to a room I could use.

"Mr. Burhan wants to take Mia out for the day tomorrow, so I'll wake you up in time to help her get ready"

I found shower gel and shampoo in the bathroom and was surprised that Marta had been in and placed sleep wear and some clothes out on the bed for tomorrow, trousers, sweater and a light knee length jacket, I wonder where we're going? I felt safe here away from Trenton; maybe I did need to move here? There didn't seem to be a reason to stay in Trenton anymore.

By 7 in the morning we were all inside the Bentley but neither Mia nor I knew where we were going, everyone was quiet and it was the type of silence that you didn't want to break, we were headed north, so maybe New York? I was speechless when we pulled into a private airfield and the car stopped along side a private jet. I knew I was feeling nervous and Mia caught on.

"Steph, don't you like to fly?"

"Not really Mia"

"You'll like it on this plane, there's food and movies and even a bedroom"

"Well it must be good then"

"Come on I'll take care of you"

I needed to be strong even if it was just for Mia. I must admit once I got over how plush the seats were and Mia's continual banter I did relax. I noticed Mr. Burhan watching us as we laughed at the video, yeah; I'd introduced Mia to Ghostbusters. Much to my surprise we actually landed in Washington; Mr. Burhan had a business meeting and thought it would be a good experience for Mia to see the sites; he'd brought in a tour guide and with Mia and Aden in tow he would take us around the city. I'd been here years ago on a school trip, but now as an adult I had a better appreciation of the attractions.

We arrived early at the Capitol Visitor Center and learnt about the history of the U.S. government. The main entrance was located at the East Plaza between Constitution and Independence Avenues, we saw the Hall of Columns, the rotunda, and the old Supreme Court chambers. Then it was onto The Smithsonian, which is actually comprised of 19 museums. Since we had limited time to tour the city, we chose to visit the National Museum of Natural History. There was so much to see and so little time, but we were in awe of the Hope Diamond and the other gems and minerals, the massive fossil collection, and a life-size replica of a North Atlantic whale and a 1,800-gallon-tank display of coral reef. After the museum it was definitely lunchtime and what better than a hot dog from a street vendor. Mia was in her element; she'd never eaten anything bought in the street, let alone ate as she walked along the street in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the crowds. Of course you can't come to Washington without taking a peek at the White House, we walked west on Pennsylvania Avenue and came to President's Park and the White House. Our next visit was the National Memorials; the monuments were truly spectacular to visit. The memorials were very spread out so we rode by pedi cab on a guided tour, and managed to see the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial and the Korean Memorial and finally we went up to the top of the Washington Monument. As we wondered round I thought about the loss of life through war, and prayed that Ranger came home safely.

We spent the evening walking round Georgetown, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Washington; it was a vibrant community with upscale shops, bars, and restaurants along its cobblestone streets. Then we walked to Washington Harbor enjoying the Potomac Waterfront views as we enjoyed a gourmet dinner. Once we'd finished we returned to the airport and boarded the plane. Mia was tired, and so was I, so we snuggled up on the bed in the bedroom chatting about all the things we'd seen and done, without meaning to I slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When I awoke I felt like I'd slept for hours and was surprised that we were still in the air. I wondered into the galley to get something to eat, and couldn't help but see and over hear Mr. Burhan talking through his laptop on a videoconference.

"Look we had an agreement as we always have had, everything is set up and I can't back out of the deal now. We're landing soon so there isn't anything that can be done"

What was that all about, where exactly were we, and where were we going? I returned to the bedroom door then turned and making some noise went back to the galley.

"Good morning Miss. Plum, did you sleep well?"

"Yes thank you, but where are we?"

"On our way to my house in Cairo"

"Cairo, as in Egypt?"

"Yes Miss. Plum, I thought it was about time Mia got to know her roots. I'm from that part of the world, though her mother was American, so she can see how my world exists. I'm sure you'll enjoy it"

How the hell had I ended up on the other side of the world? If I had been asked would I have said yes? But I wasn't asked or even told. I was feeling nervous now, and I didn't know why, surely he wouldn't hurt Mia or me? Would he? When the doorway of the plane opened I was taken aback by the brightness of the sun and the heat, Mia was obviously a little nervous because she had my hand in a death grip. The ride from the airport was unreal, so many cars and travelling in all directions at once, and the buildings, some tall, some small and many didn't look as if they should stay up. People on the streets and wandering through markets, all looking a bit dirty and a bit scruffy, but the energy they portrayed was unreal. We then seemed to move out of the city and came to a beautiful area surrounded with palm trees, I assume an oasis, we moved through wide gates into an area surrounded by a white wall and inside was a single story house. I suddenly felt so alone, so vulnerable and my senses were telling me trouble was waiting for me. The house felt cool inside, all the walls were white with large paintings and motifs. The floor was a beautiful marble, the same design throughout. Mia and I were shown to a suite of rooms, two bedrooms with en suite and a large shared lounge that had access through glass doors to the garden, and not just any garden, there was a large swimming pool in the center with chairs and hammocks placed under the shade of palm trees. Okay, maybe this wasn't so bad, but I was still annoyed that Mr. Burhan hadn't let me know. Mia was in her element especially when she discovered swimwear for both of us in cases that just seemed to materialize. We spent the remainder of the evening by the pool and in our rooms, dinner was provided outside on the terrace and we were both so hungry. By early evening we were both tired so after reading Mia a story I went into my bedroom. I didn't know what the plans were while we were here but decided that I couldn't change anything so just to go along with what we were told and enjoy the experience.

Aden joined us for breakfast, a selection of breads, cold meat and cheeses and informed us of the plans for the day. In the morning we were to visit the Museum of Cairo, Mia was excited, me not so much. Though I have to admit once we got there and were inside I was blown away with the artifacts and the intricacy of the work that had been done so many years ago, I was enthralled with the inscriptions, mummies, sarcophagi, pottery, jewelry, and the way the ancient Egyptians had lived and died. Apparently the museum houses an unbelievable exhibit depicting ancient Egypt's glorious reign, and of course both of us were so excited when we saw the exhibit dedicated to Tutankhamen and the collection of treasure, gold and jewelry which was enclosed in his tomb for over 3,500 years before it was discovered in the 1920s when his tomb was excavated. The boy-king's death mask, discovered in its tomb, was made of solid gold and it has been described as the most beautiful object ever made and having now seen it I could certainly agree with that.

Next were the pyramids, I had imagined them in the middle of the desert but the houses of Cairo were almost upon them. The largest was Khufu's Pyramid, and is the greatest pyramid of the complex: it was a truly overwhelming sight. Being one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, it is the only one still standing to this day! When I gazed at this colossal structure, there's no way to escape the feeling of being dwarfed. The two smaller - but still huge - pyramids were Khafre and Menkaure. The car took us to the furthest point and I was told that we would be picked up at the bottom of the complex. It was at this point that I realized just how many men were surrounding us, all of them armed. As we slowly followed the road down I actually appreciated our male company, the locals were like bees to a honey pot, trying to sell their trinkets or in one instance just about picking me up to hoist me onto a camel. Needless to say they soon got the message to leave us alone. Mia thought the whole thing was a hoot, until Aden told her that they'd take me away and sell me. Not funny. We talked about the magnificence of the pyramids and how hard it must have been to build them. Mia wanted to go inside one so Aden went with her, inside the small tunnel leading inside, I declined, no way could I cope with such a small space. Down on the Plateau, we came to the Great Sphinx and the Solar Boat Museum. This was the site where the Light Show at Giza took place. I could never have imagined that the Pyramids were that big; it was breath taking. I'd had an amazing day, seeing things I would never have dreamt of seeing.

As the sun sank behind the desert we were chaperoned back to the cars, it would be a longer journey back to the house. Sat in the back Mia was curled against me asleep, but my spidey senses had me wound up tight, it was pitch black except for the stars with no other traffic when suddenly the car in front seemed to spin out of control. We stopped suddenly and all hell let loose. Shots were fired into the car doors, thank god they were bullet proof, but then my car door was yanked open and I came face to face with a man wearing a keffiyeh pulled around his head and obscuring his face, in his hand was a revolver and it was pointed at me. I froze, pushing Mia behind me, but to no avail, he grabbed hold of my arm and started to drag me from the car. I screamed and I kicked until he backhanded me across the face; I realized too late that another man away from the car was carrying Mia. I stopped the struggle; I needed to stay with her. There was a lot of movement as cars were pushed to the side of the road, I had no idea how many men were in the group, maybe only about seven and some seemed to be women, but looking round all I could see were men dressed in Arabic clothes and scarves. Now was definitely the time to panic. My hands were tied with cloth in front of me and a hood placed over my head and that was what panicked me the most.

"Please no, I'll do anything you ask, please don't put me in the dark"

Either he didn't understand or he wasn't interested in how I felt, as the cloth closed around my face the panic started to overtake me. My breathing started to increase, I felt dizzy and then I felt nothing.

It was the feeling of moving and a strange sound that woke me; I opened my eyes to discover that the hood had been removed. Physically I felt fine, but mentally I was still in a state of shock. Why had this happened, surely this had nothing to do with me. My first instinct was to look for Mia; my eyes darted around the confines of my prison, thankful that I could see Mia laid across some old blankets. We seemed to be in the back of a jeep, with cloth covering the top and the sides. I crawled over to Mia, I needed to touch her, make sure she was unhurt. She turned as I approached and we met in the middle, I lifted my still bound hands over her head and pulled her to me.

"Steph, what do they want?"  
"I don't know, but we need to make sure we stay together, okay?"

"Okay"

The sound was coming from the tires so I lifted the cloth at the back of the jeep and peeked out. Sand, that's all I could see, miles and miles of sand. It was the sound of the tires on the sand that I had heard, and from the look of where the sun was it was early morning. No point in trying to escape, there was nowhere to escape to; we'd die of thirst or heat stroke before we found refuge. I needed to wait for the right opportunity before I made my move. So with that in my mind I sat against the side of the jeep and pulled Mia onto my knee and into my arms. Having spent what seemed like hours travelling the jeep eventually stopped and someone opened up the back of the jeep, throwing in some clothes.

"Put these on"

Stay calm Stephanie, do as they say and hopefully we'll be safe, maybe we were being held for a ransom so they'd need to keep us safe, wouldn't they? With a sigh I picked up the clothes and sorted through them to find the ones for Mia. The larger items, which I assumed were meant for me, was like a large grey kaftan, that fell to below my knees and long sleeves, and a pair of baggy elasticated trousers there was also a scarf for my head. Mia changed into similar items and then we made to get out of the jeep. I was stiff and needed to walk to stretch my muscles. No one stopped us and in fact one man held out a bottle of water to each of us. The men seemed to be watching and waiting, what for I wasn't sure. We both tipped back the bottle, relishing the feel of the liquid on our throats. Then I realized my mistake as the view of the men in front of me began to shimmer and I began to sway, the bastards had drugged us.

This time when I came awake I felt more comfortable, shifting I realized I was laying on cushions, with Mia curled up next to me. I stayed still listening for any movement or talking. There didn't feel to be anyone near so I opened my eyes slowly to find that we were inside a tent, the floor was covered with rugs and cushions. I slowly moved so as not to disturb Mia and peeked underneath the cloth of the tent by the floor. More sand, where the hell were we? Then I saw two men walking toward the tent, was I seeing things or was one of them Aden, how was he here, why was he here, was he part of us being kidnapped? I quickly returned to where I was and pretended to still be asleep. I was aware of sunlight on my face and decided to move as though I was waking up. I looked up into the face of Aden, at least his face showed some sign of regret.

"Aden, what the hell is going on?"

"We needed to get you and Mia out before you were hurt"

"Hurt by who?"

He looked at Mia, then returned his gaze to me.  
"The house you were in was bombed last night, we knew an attack was imminent, but we're not sure who planned it"

"Mia's father?"

"He wasn't there"

"Aden where are we?"

"Saudi"

"How?"

"After you slept"

"You mean drugged"

"Okay, we had to drug you to hide you to get onto the ferry"

"But why?"

"It seems you don't do well in small dark spaces"

"No, I don't, a past experience"

"You'll be safe here"

"For how long?"

"Not sure, just trust us please, we have no intention of hurting you or frightening you"

"Can we go outside?"  
"Yes, but do not go beyond the camp, there may be people out here who would attack us, and Steph, wear a scarf around your head to hide your hair and please don't look directly at anyone"

I understood what he wanted me to do, I just didn't understand why. Mia was stirring so I went to her.

"Mia, Carino, I'm here with you, we're safe"

How I wished those words were being spoken to me by Ranger, it's what he would have said to me, so now I needed to be strong for her.

"Steph, where are we?"

"In the desert, but I think we're safe"

"What did you call me?"

"Carino, it's Spanish for sweetie, sorry Mia I was thinking of a friend who speaks Spanish"

"That's okay, it sounds nice"

"Shall we go outside and stretch our legs?"

She nodded, but I know she was frightened, I held tightly to her hand as we bent down under the flap of the tent and into the bright sunlight. She instantly saw Aden and left me to jump into his arms. I was just hoping he was one of the good guys; I'd never had any doubt about him before now. An old woman came up to me and led me to a camp chair to sit down. I did as Aden had said and didn't look at her. She removed the scarf, combed and braided my hair then placed a black band of cloth around my head, tied at the back so that my hair was out of sight.

"Thank you"

She replied but I'm not sure what she said, and then her hands were on my jaws raising my face to hers. I'm sure she saw my eyes, but I'm not sure what she was shouting to the other women. I stood up quickly, going over to Aden.

"What did she say?"

"She was beguiled by the blue of your eyes"

"Why?"  
"In Islamic tradition, blue often signifies the impenetrable depths of the universe, and turquoise blue is thought to have mystical qualities, as a result, Muslims imagine that a person with blue eyes has divinely endowed qualities, similarly, indigo or dark violet-blue has mystical qualities in certain regions. I know that your eyes change color depending on your mood, she saw it too"

"What did she shout out to the others?"

"Euyun zurqa', euyun zurqa' 'iilhia. Blue eyes, divine blue eyes"

"Oh, is that a bad thing?"

"Depends, if others hear her saying that they may work out it's you, or maybe not"

"Aden, why are we in Saudi, and not still in Egypt?"

"We were being followed, we can get lost from sight once we're over here, not so much in Egypt"

"So what now?"

"We're going to head toward the capitol, Riyadh"

Mia stirred at that and looked at Aden with a frown.

"How far Aden, I want to go home"

"About 1200km, so maybe 12 hours staying off the main roads"

Mia let out a moan at that, yeah, me too kid, that was a long time travelling in this heat.

I turned and noticed that the tents had been taken down and every where people were packing, I suppose we were leaving now, though I had no idea what time it was, my watch was still tuned in to American time.

"Aden, what time is it here, now?"

"9am, time to go"

I altered my watch and followed Aden who was still carrying Mia to the front of the jeep. He opened the door for us to get in.

"Thought you'd prefer to be up front?"  
I think we were both relieved with that. Aden drove, following another jeep; I noticed that we had two much larger trucks behind us in our convoy. The scenery never seemed to change and although the seats were reasonably comfy, I was hot, sticky and felt the sand on my skin. What I wouldn't give to have a long hot shower. Mia slept and at some stage I dozed but every jolt would shake me to being fully awake. I noticed up ahead that the route we were taking wasn't very clear; I looked over at Aden.

"Sandstorm, we'll need to stop and bunker down till it passes"

All of the vehicles converged and formed a circle; I suppose to give some protection, then the men and women just squatted down against a vehicle and covered themselves in a blanket. I looked at Aden and realized he'd picked up Mia and was getting out of the jeep. I quickly followed and realized he had several large blankets. I took one and arranged it so half was on the floor, then took Mia and sat with my back to a truck wheel and Mia snuggled between my legs and across my chest. Aden then pulled the blanket around us, tucking it in at all the edges.

"Stay like this until I get you out"

It was an order, and one I would follow. I could already hear the sound change as the storm approached, then I could feel a hammering against the blanket, I tightened my hold on the edges and prayed that we would survive this. I wasn't exactly frightened, this was a force of nature not of man, and for some reason that made a difference to me. I was more afraid that someone else would be hurt.

We sat quietly waiting for the storm to pass and after a short time the howling and battering on the blanket began to ease. The sound of silence was almost as terrifying as the sound of the storm.

"Can we go out?"

I whispered back against her ear, giving her a hug.

"Not till we're told it's safe"

"Is anyone still there?"

"I'm sure they're just waiting to make sure the storm has all gone"

I could hear voices now, low murmuring and then grunts, shit what had happened, then I heard my worst fears come true.

"Find the woman and the girl, tie the others up and leave them to the desert"

Shit, now what, I kept perfectly still as the voices came nearer.

"We'll take the trucks and jeeps with us, the supplies may come in handy"

Closer and closer, I could feel Mia tense up, she'd heard them as well, then the blanket was being pulled away, until both of us were revealed. The sun was behind the two men who had uncovered us, I didn't look up, aware that Aden had said not to, plus the sun was too bright to look into. Mia was dragged away from me, she was kicking and screaming with every ounce of energy she had. I was annoyed by that action and to hell with being demure, so I stood up and walked up to the man holding a writhing child and took her from him. She immediately went quiet, and clung to me with her arms around my neck.

"I'll hold her, not you"

He made to come at me but then another man stopped him.

"Leave her, I'd rather they were together, anyway I'm not riding in a truck with that noise"

He took my elbow and put us in the front of one of the trucks, then got out handcuffs and handcuffed my arm to the handrail above the window, then slammed the door shut. I closed my eyes, trying to get a grip on myself, where were the others, Aden and the women? What did this group want with us? Why us? I felt a nudge on my shoulder and noticed Mia looking in the rear view mirror, I leant over as far as I could, and when she changed the position of the mirror I could see what had happened to the people we were with. They were all hog-tied, faces in the sand, black bags over their heads and there were some men shoveling sand over them. I turned away and pulled Mia against me.

"Mia, we have to be strong and we have to believe that they'll get out of there once we set off"

"Do you think so?"

"Yes, Carino, I have to believe that" or I will not be able to survive.

I was crying inside from what I'd seen, how could someone do that to another human being, I couldn't imagine how they must be feeling, and to die like that? Be angry Stephanie, turn your fear to anger, for Mia's sake. Oh god Ranger, where are you now when I need you, will I ever hear your voice again? I wanted desperately to feel his arms around me and tell me he was there and everything would be all right. Why hadn't I told him how I felt, at least I could die knowing that he knew, even if he didn't love me in the same way. Maybe if I got out of this I could live with him being just a friends, please god even if it's just as friends, let me see and hear him again, please.

I wasn't aware of the truck moving, I was still lost in my thoughts, I kept my eyes closed to make sure there was no evidence of crying, I wouldn't give these bastards that satisfaction. My arm was aching being held up by the cuff for so long, Mia was asleep again, which was probably a good thing. I think we'd been travelling for about four hours and I was at my limit.

"Where are we going?"

The man turned as if he had forgotten I was there.

"Somewhere safe"

"How long, I can't travel like this for much longer"

"30 minutes, maybe, then we'll make camp"

True to his word we began to slow and moved from the sandy track to stop on the other side of a sand dune. Mia came awake as we stopped, and stretched.

"I need a toilet"

Great, well maybe now she'd mentioned it so did I. The man sighed and released the cuffs and pulled us both across to the drivers side and out onto the sand. He rummaged in the back of the jeep and came to us with a rope and a shovel.

"You've got the length of this rope, use the shovel to dig a hole then cover it over"

The rope was fastened to Mia's ankle; he knew I wouldn't leave her, another reason to hate him. We walked across the sand, trying to find a place that couldn't be seen by any of the men.

"Mia, see if you can count how many men there are while I dig a hole"

Mia smiled, pleased that I'd asked her to do something positive. Once the hole was dug I helped Mia to squat over the hole, then did the same myself. Once I'd filled in the hole we slowly walked back toward the truck.

"How many Mia?"

"I saw six, I don't think there are any women here this time"

"Well we need to bide our time, no point in getting lost out here in the desert"

"What do they want with us Steph?"

"I don't know"

But I needed to find out. The problem was that the only person who would come near us was the man who had driven us, the rest kept their distance and I wasn't sure why. After we had returned to the truck he brought two metal dishes and two bottles of water over for us, maybe now was possibly a chance to ask some questions.

"If you're the one who's in charge of us, what name do I call you?"

He looked up from his dish as though thinking of how to answer. He looked young, maybe mid twenties, with brown eyes and hair to his shoulders. His eyes were assessing us and he had no particular expression on his face.

"Sami"

"Why have you taken us Sami?"

"Bosses orders, didn't ask, I just do as I'm told"

"Why won't any of the other men come near us?"

"They don't know what to make of you"

"What do you mean?"

"Your eyes, they are superstitious, so they stay away from you"

"Oh"

How could I respond to that? But maybe I could use it to my advantage, what was it Aden had said? Muslims thought that a person with blue eyes had divinely endowed qualities, and mystical qualities. Maybe there would be an opportunity to see if it worked, I know Ranger often said that he could tell my mood by the color my eyes were. Ranger, I wonder where he is now? Will anyone even notice that I'm gone? I hadn't told anyone where I worked or who for, dam my independence, no one would even know I was missing let alone be looking for me. Even Tank would be non the wiser, he'd only get worried when I got myself into scrapes with my skips, he'd probably just assume I had a new job so nothing to worry about. I think Mary Lou was the only one I'd even hinted at as what my job was, but not where. I turned back to the slop I was trying to eat, it was some sort of stew with chickpeas and lots of rice, in fact we were supposed to just use our fingers in order to eat and then use the bread to wipe up the remnants. It wasn't too bad, a bit spicey, but at least they were feeding us. The darkness came quickly and Sami told us to sleep in the back of the jeep, there were some extra blankets as the air was beginning to feel cold. Mia and I snuggled together, both of us quiet, probably trying to mull over everything that had happened in the last two days.

"Do you think daddy will be looking for us?"

"I'm sure he is Carina, he'll be worried about you"

"I know this sounds mean, but I'm glad you're here with me"

"Me too"

Mia was restless during the night and I tried my best to make sure she was comfy, as she seemed to fall into a deeper sleep I felt a pain in my calf muscle, shit I'd been so concerned for her comfort my leg was bent back behind me. I needed to move, to stretch out my leg and the truck was too short for that. I carefully detangled myself from Mia and slid out of the back of the truck, standing up and stretching my calf muscle, it was too painful and I ended up sat down trying to massage it. I felt someone near me before they appeared; Sami squatted down in front of me.

"Why are you out here?"

A tear fell from my eye and slowly ran down my cheek.

"I have cramp in my calf and I can't get it to stop"

He looked at me, obviously not sure what to do, but I could see some concern in his face.

"Here, let me try to work it through for you"

He placed my foot on his knee and slowly pressed hard onto the muscle, then moved his hands up and down, trying to get the muscle to relax.

"It's really tight, is this helping?"

I nodded, yes it did seem easier, but it was still sore. When he thought the muscle was more relaxed he pulled me to my feet and made me walk back and forth, when the pain subsided I stopped and turned to him.

"Thank you Sami, that helped a lot, I'll go back inside and try to sleep"

"Drink the water"

I looked at him, I could remember the last bottle of water I'd drunk and it had knocked me out. He sensed my unease.

"Why won't you drink it?"

"The last bottle I was given had some drug in it and it knocked me out"

"The water's safe, I promise"

I climbed back in to the jeep and found the bottle of water; I didn't realize how thirsty I was until the whole bottle was empty. I turned back to Mia, glad to see she was more settled and finding a comfortable position eventually fell asleep next to her. What woke me was the movement of the truck, it wasn't that we were being jostled around it was that peculiar sound again. As I looked around I panicked, Mia, where was Mia?

"Mia"

I saw Sami's eyes in the rearview mirror, was he smiling at me?

"Good morning sleeping beauty, Mia's up front with me, but you need to stay where you are"

"Why?"

"Too many people on the road, and don't even think about shouting out or screaming, they are not the type of people you would want to rescue you"

Mia turned in her seat to look at me; she had a very serious face on her.

"Steph, they've all got guns"

"Is Mia safe there?"

"Yes she is as long as stays below the level of the window. Twenty minutes and we turn off this road, then you can move"

True to his word I felt the jeep turn to the right and not long after Mia sat back up.

"We'll stop in a couple of miles"

"How long have we been travelling for?"

"Two hours, and before either of you ask, we've got about four hours before we reach our destination"

We did stop, but not for long. Another walk at the end of a rope with a shovel and we were on our way again, this time with me sat in the front next to Mia. Sami had gone quiet, in fact he reminded me of Ranger when he went into his zone. The terrain had started to change and there were rocky outcrops and I'm sure we were travelling higher. As we turned and slowly drove down a twisting track I could see a series of tents and a building. Yeah, a building was probably being optimistic, but at least it had walls and a roof and looked to be built from stone. We stopped in front of the stone building and Sami stopped the engine, I went to open the door but a man appeared from the building and I backed away from him, I didn't like the vibes I was getting from him, and my spidey senses were tingling, telling me to be very cautious around him. He yanked the door open and grabbed my arm and dragged me after him inside the house. I looked around for Sami, but he had disappeared. Mia kept close to me and as she caught up with me held onto my free hand.

"In there, both of you"

We were pushed through a doorway; with him slamming the door shut and I heard a bolt slide across from the outside. We both just stood there looking around, this was bad, one mattress on the floor was the only content, no windows, no natural light, only a bulb hanging from the ceiling.

"I don't like it in here"

"I know Mia, but let's just make the most of it and see what happens"

Now I was beginning to feel afraid, this looked like a prison and I'm not sure if Mia had seen them, but there were metal rings attached to the walls, surely they wouldn't fasten us up to those, would they? I went to the door and put my ear against it to see if I could hear anything, nothing but silence. I needed to divert Mia with something before she got scared.

"Come here Mia, let's sort out your hair and see if we can get those clothes a bit tidier"

We spent the next few hours mindlessly redressing ourselves and I let Mia re braid my hair and put the band of material back around my head. I had no idea how long we'd been there, when the bolt slid and the door opened. Two men came in; one was the one who brought us into the room, he was stocky and maybe a bit older than me. He had dark greasy hair and a beard and moustache, his teeth looked crooked and stained as he smiled, and not a pleasant smile.

"Take the kid out and feed her, get the women to put her in some clean clothes"

I hadn't looked up at this stage, but now I did, I looked at him and could feel my temper rise.

"Where she goes I go"

"Not happening"

Mia started to cry and was dragged out of the room, the door closing behind them. Oh no, what did he want with me, would he beat me, or worse rape me? I backed up against the wall as he moved closer to me.

"So you're the one the men won't go near. You're just a woman with blue eyes, nothing special, and I'll prove that to them"

As he reached for me I ducked under his arm and ran across to the other wall.

"Oh you want to play hard to get do you?"

Oh god, he was going to attack me, no way was that happening without a fight. This time I stood my ground and stared at him. You can do this Stephanie; remember how Hector taught you to defend yourself, not that I'd always taken much notice of him. Shit why didn't I do those lessons that Ranger was always asking me to do? As he reached for my shoulder I knocked his arm away from me and stepped in toward him bringing up my right knee with every ounce of strength I had. I hit the target hard and he went down to his knees, so I brought up my knee again and went to hit him under his jaw. At the last minute he flinched his head back so that my knee hit the end of his nose with a crack sending him sprawling backwards onto the floor. He didn't move, I couldn't see him breathing, oh no, had I killed him? I knelt down beside him, panicking now, and felt for a pulse on his neck. Nothing. My breathing hitched, what had I done? Surely he wasn't dead, I didn't mean to kill him, he'll be all right he's just out cold, I could feel myself shaking and began to hyperventilate. Get a grip on yourself, he was going to attack you, it was self-defense, I knelt over trying to control my breathing, trying to tamp down the feeling of absolute revulsion at what I may have done. When I felt more in control a second wave of panic overcame me, what would happen to me when the men outside found out what I'd done. I turned to the door and turned the handle, it had been left open, and so I slowly pulled it toward me and peeked out of the room into the area beyond. Too many men were in close proximity to make a run for it and I needed to find Mia. Now what, do I stay and wait for someone to come in or do I brazen this out? I went with being bold while I still had the courage and walked out of the building with my head held high, I wiped the tears from my face and took in deep breaths. I would out stare anyone who approached me. As I walked out I spied Mia at the far side of the area we were in and trying to look confident walked over to her. No one approached me, no one really looked at me, and I reached Mia without a problem and sat on the bench next to her. As she looked at me I shook my head, hoping she understood not to say anything. I took the opportunity to look around where we were. There was a flat area of sand and earth surrounded by rocky outcrops, giving it protection and enclosing the area in, except for an opening where tracks on the ground showed the track of tires, obviously the way in and out of here. There were a few small tents and structures that just had a canvas roof, with boxes and crates underneath. Another similar structure had tables and benches and what looked like open fires, presumably for cooking as there were pans and a kettle sat on the ground next to the fires. As I looked around I saw Sami and at the same moment he looked up and saw me. He showed surprise at seeing me, but didn't move; instead he looked toward the stone building I had been locked in. Another man looked over and then throwing a cup to the floor ran into the building, shouting in a language I didn't understand. That had more men running into the building. I'm not sure why but the four women who had been with Mia stood up and walked in front of me, their backs to me and faced the men as they came running out of the building toward us. There were five men facing the women, everyone shouting, until one of the women said something that had them all go absolutely silent. Mia had my hand in hers, obviously frightened by the uproar, moving her self to be next to me. Eventually everyone went quiet, the men whispered amongst themselves and then they walked away.

"Steph, what just happened?"

"I'm not sure, just stay put and try to look calm"

Yeah, like that was easy to do, I was almost shaking at what had just happened. The women turned and one by one came to me and placed a hand on my cheek before resuming their work on Mia's hair. Sami moved toward us and with his eyes indicated that I should go to him. I rose and turned back to Mia.

"I'm just going to talk with Sami, stay here"

"Well, blue eyes or should I call you euyun zurqa? You have them real worried, the man in the building is dead with only a drop of blood coming from his nose. The women told them that if he tried to attack you then your divine and mystical powers were what killed him, and you would do the same to them"

"They believe in all that?"

"If they didn't they do now, especially since the old women threatened them. Did he try to attack you?"

I looked down at my hands that I was holding in front of me and nodded. I didn't mean to kill him, but if people were afraid to touch me then maybe I could live with that, couldn't I?

"Don't doubt that what you did was justified, don't show them any weakness"

He turned and went back to the men. They were now dragging the body out of the room so I stood in front of Mia so that she couldn't see what I'd done. I felt ashamed but in the back of my mind I could here what Ranger would have said to me. "Proud of you Babe"

Two of the women stood and took both my and Mia's hands and led us to one of the small tents, opening the flap for us to go in. Inside the floor was covered with a rug and brightly colored pillows. They came in behind us followed by the other two women who were carrying jugs and a large bowl. The jugs were emptied into the bowl and we were given a bar of soap and towels, then shown clean clothes to wear, then they left us.

"Let's wash and change Mia, while we can"

"Steph what happened to that man?"

"I hurt him Mia"

"Because he was going to hurt you?"

"Yes Mia, he thought he could hurt me"

"Good, I hope you hurt him real bad"

The simplicity of washing was heaven and I felt clean for the first time in days, though my hair felt a bit wild from the basic soap. The clothes we were given weren't new, but they were clean. How the women could get things so clean out here was beyond me. When we had finished I looked at Mia, her cheeks were pink and her eyes looked brighter, she looked comfortable in a black tunic and trousers with her hair braided down her back. My attire was very similar but the tunic was longer coming down to my calves and I had a clean black cloth to wrap around my hair and head. We left the confines of the tent and went to the large canvassed area where two of the women were sat cross-legged next to the fire. I sat on one of the benches while Mia went to watch what they were doing. She was trying to talk with them, but obviously they didn't understand, instead they constantly smiled at her. Mia pointed to herself saying "Mia" then pointed to them. Eventually after repeating this a few times they laughed and each one gave Mia their names, Sona and Alya. It was hard to age them, they obviously led a hard life and the head wear they wore covered their hair, but maybe in their forties, older than me but younger than my mother? They served up some kind of stew with bread which considering the amenities was really good; they must have used spices to give flavor to the food. We were then led back to our tent and the ties were tied together, meaning we were here for the night. I suppose the men wouldn't want to eat with us around. We both slept better that night, but Mia still insisted on curling up with me and I must admit I liked the contact between us. I awoke with the memory of a dream still lingering in the back of my mind, the faces of Ranger as he moved from being bounty hunter, CEO, friend and lover. Each face was looking into my eyes with his, and depending on his mood showing the depth of color and his feelings. I yearned to see those eyes to feel his touch.

The next two days were quiet, the only companions we had were Sona and Alya; they tried to teach us to cook, yeah even me, and showed us how to play a really old board game called Ur. The game was played using two sets of seven checker-like game pieces. One set of pieces was white with five black dots and the other set was black with five white dots. The board was composed of two rectangular sets of boxes, joined together by a "narrow bridge" of two boxes. The gameplay involved elements of both luck and strategy and movements were determined by rolling a set of four-sided, pyramid-shaped dice A single game could last up to half an hour and could be very intense. On the morning of the third day there was a lot of activity, Sona and Alya were busy cooking and cleaning up the place and the men were sorting through the boxes and crates. Instead of there being two men on guard there were three today, even Sami seemed distracted and told us to stay in our tent and keep out of the way. I felt that something was about to happen; something big, my spidey senses were humming .It was mid morning when the reason for all the upheaval became apparent, a large truck drove into the camp. Mia and I had sussed out a way to peer through sections of the tent and watched as three locally dressed men flanked another one as he walked into the stone building, but he was dressed in khaki trousers and a shirt, in fact he seemed more European than local, but I couldn't get a look at his face for the scarf around his head and face and modern sunglasses covering his eyes. Now I knew why Alya had been tasked with sprucing the place up. The three men stood guard outside the door and for all intents and purposes everything went quiet. An hour later, yeah I was keeping a check on the time; our peace was suddenly disturbed when Alya came into the tent mumbling something, Rayiys, what did that mean? Was that the name of the new man? She went up to Mia and taking hold of her hand led her from the tent with me in hot pursuit. Alya led her past the guards and into the stone building. I panicked, I had to get Mia out of there and I couldn't let her be separated from me. The guards blocked me from entering.

"No, I need to go in there"

They shook their heads and held up their hands to stop me. No way were they going to do that. I squared my shoulders and looked them in the eye.

"I will go in, you're not going to stop me, and I won't be separated from Mia"

As I said this I physically pushed my way past them, they didn't really want to touch me and I easily got to the door and through it. Inside Mia was sat at a table opposite that new man; she was sat silently just looking at him. She turned to me, got up and ran into my arms.

"Steph, he wants to take a video of me"

"Get that woman out of here"

The man had removed his scarf and glasses so now I could get a good look at him. He seemed to be about fifty, hard to tell, because his was going bald, probably on a good hair day it would be combed back, but today it was stuck out all over the place, auburn wisps of it. His face was narrow and he had the beginning of jowls under his jaw by his neck. It was his eyes though that struck me; small cold grey eyes stared at me, from his pale drawn face.

The guards came rushing through the door and looked from me to the man.

"Get her out, for gods sake she's only a woman, I don't want her in here"

I turned with Mia in my arms and walked out, no one tried to stop us; no one tried to take Mia from me. What had just happened, because if he wanted a photo of Mia was he going to be demanding a ransom for her, and who from and for what? But the weirdest thing was that he had spoken in English, did those men understand him and was he in fact the boss? As we approached the tent I got the weird feeling that we were being watched from somewhere high amongst the rocks, I turned and looked, trying to get my feelings under control, I swore I felt a tingle down my neck. Wishful thinking, I only got that feeling when Ranger was near and no way was he here, maybe my nerves were playing havoc with me. We went back inside the tent and clung to each other.

"Mia, I won't ever leave you, I promise"

"I know, but he scared me, he said that I would get him what he wanted, but I don't know what he wanted"

"Did he sound American to you?"

"Yes he did, why's he so far from home?"

"I don't know, but I know we have to be very careful. Mia I'm thinking maybe we should try and get away from here"  
"But where would we go?"  
"Well there must a town or something close because the women are constantly coming and going and bringing food here"

"You think someone will help us?"

"I hope so Mia, I hope so"

I made Mia lie down and try to get some sleep while I kept watch as to what was going on outside. I had a funny feeling that I couldn't place, but shrugged it off, putting it down to nerves. The three guards were now positioned at the door to our tent so getting out was going to prove difficult. It was late in the afternoon when I heard the truck engine over by the building and looked out to see that the three guards and their boss were leaving. I had to get us out of here I didn't believe that we were safe. During our meal everyone was quiet and I noticed that Sona and Alya weren't there, they'd obviously left food for us and the men, so with no one really watching us I squirrelled away some bread, fruit and bottles of water under my tunic, I had the beginnings of a plan that had to happen tonight. When I thought that it was very late at night, and to be honest my spidey sense was screaming at me, I knew it was time to get away from here, I began to unpick the material at the back of the tent, and made a hole big enough to squeeze through, then I gently woke up Mia. We had the supplies that I'd smuggled from the food tent, and I had put them all in a cloth and tied the ends up to make it easy to carry across my shoulder. I went first, staying on my stomach, and pulled Mia with me. The sky was a myriad of stars; fortunately there was no moon tonight. I waited, listening intently, no sounds were coming from any of the tents, and so we slowly started to crawl toward the first outcrop of rocks. Half way there and I heard the unmistakable sound of guns being fired, automatic guns at that. I froze, laying partly across Mia to protect her, and looked back. There were men coming through the entrance and from some of the rocks and they were firing at the tents and anyone that moved.  
"Mia, we have to get out of here"

I half stood and lifted her in front of me and then stood and ran with her into the rocks. I felt a jolt against my shoulder but my adrenaline was flowing and I didn't feel any pain, we had to get away from here. The way forward wasn't easy; the rocks were sharp and at times loose making it hard to keep up a fast pace. I finally realized that the gunfire was some distance behind us and was now only spasmodic. Was this another group? Who were they after? Us? The American had left just as the sun was setting, were they after him? Did they know we were there and would anyone come after us?

"Mia we need to go a little further then find somewhere to hide, can you do that for me?"

She nodded her head, she looked as shell shocked as I felt, tears were running down her face and her hands were shaking. Dear lord she shouldn't have to experience anything like this. After a short while I found an overhang in between some rocks and sat down pulling Mia to me. I think we were both silently crying now, totally exhausted and devastated at what had just happened.

"Steph, you're bleeding"

"It's nothing, just a graze"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, try to rest, we'll need to move in the morning"

Once Mia had settled I crept to the mouth of the overhang, my shoulder was hurting like a bitch and I needed to see what the damage was. Pulling the tunic down I felt a graze in my skin just above my shoulder bone, shit I knew I'd been hit from behind. Well at least I didn't have a bullet inside me, now to try and stop the bleeding, maybe Mia would need to help me when she woke up. I tore some of the cloth from my makeshift bag and tied it tightly over my shoulder and under my arm, not an ideal place to tie a bandage to. Back with Mia I dozed on and off until daylight showed, then woke up Mia.

"Mia, can you help tie a bandage around my shoulder please?"

"You got shot?"

"Yeah, but it's only a graze, so it's not as bad as it looks"

"Does it hurt?"  
"A little. If I hold the cloth at front can you make sure it's covering the top, that's it, see, all fastened up. Job well done"

"Are we going now?"

"Yeah, lets go out and see what's out there"

It wasn't quite light which was how I wanted it, to our right we could see lights coming from buildings and the tell tale sign of smoke from kitchens getting food ready.

"That's where we'll head, okay?"

"Okay"

We kept to the rocks as much as possible, but eventually we had to go out into the open, I just prayed that if anyone saw us they'd assume it was a mother walking with her daughter. At least if someone could see us we could see them. Yeah Stephanie a lot of good that would do, I had no idea where we were, or what we were walking into, would people help or did we still need to stay hidden? At least we were doing something and we had to get out of here, failure was not an option. The place we came to was bigger than I had first thought, and to be honest I was feeling so tired, we had only walked slowly but it felt like we'd been walking all day, I just needed to sit down and rest. We'd seen some women walking, but by keeping our faces covered and eyes down they didn't take a second look.

"Mia can we find somewhere to hide?"

She looked at me and looked around.

"Over there, it's an old fallen down building, we can go in there"

"Well spotted Mia"

She helped me to where she had seen, an old building indeed, there were only two half walls left, but it shaded us from the road and the sun and was out of the way. I collapsed by a wall and sat leaning against it.  
"Mia, do you want to get some food out and water?"

"Sure, how you feeling Steph, you don't look so good?"

"Tired but okay"

I didn't want to tell her that I felt like shit, my shoulder was throbbing and I felt weak and slightly nauseous. I leaned my head back against the wall while Mia handed out some food and water. I couldn't stomach anything so when she wasn't looking I slipped it all back into the cloth bag.

"Steph, wake up, you're all hot, Steph?"

I could vaguely hear her but couldn't move, my shoulder really hurt now and whilst I knew it was hot I was starting to shiver. No, I can't let Mia down, I have to beat this, but even as I tried to talk myself around I felt the world slowly shrink and closed my eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter3

RPOV

I'd spent a week in Boston going through the end of year reports and had done the same at Miami, now I was looking forward to getting back to Trenton, tomorrow morning I had a flight booked back and couldn't wait. I'd spent time with Julie this week so felt that my time hadn't been totally wasted. In fact we were getting on better than we had done before. I'd never planned on staying in her life, but after the whole Scrogg incident she seemed to need the contact, and so did I. I enjoyed being with her, listening to what she'd been up to and how she was doing at school. Rachel was accommodating, but laid down strict boundaries, I'm sure she thought I'd just desert Julie like she seemed to think I'd done to her. As I closed down my computer my cell phone rang, a look at the caller had me swearing.

"Sir"

"Where are you Ranger?"  
"Miami"

"Need you here, noon tomorrow"

"Where and how long"

"You know better than to ask that"

And he was gone. I did not want to go on this mission, I wanted to go home, but I knew that a call would come sooner or later because I'd said that this would be my last one. No signing my life away again. I was too old for this shit, and there were other things I wanted to do. My affairs were all taken care of, I'd made sure of that before my last mission, my family, friends but most of all Steph would benefit should I not return. My Babe, I needed to call her, she never expected me to, but for some reason I felt I had to. I hit the button for her and was surprised when it went straight to voicemail, so undeterred I called her apartment number, strange the answer machine kicked in.

"Hi Babe, I think you need to charge your mobile up, so I'm leaving a message here instead. I know I said I'd be gone a few weeks checking up with the other offices, but something's come up and I may not be around for a while. If you need anything then talk to Tank, Babe, don't hesitate; you know he'll help you. Please take care and I'll see you when I get back, I promise"

That was all I could do, strange I'd really wanted to hear her voice tonight; the amusement in it and the inflection from what I might have said. I was missing her, probably more than I realized, what was that all about? Never mind, I needed to talk with Tank next.  
"Ranger, I thought you were back tomorrow, what's wrong?"  
"Being called out"

"Shit, I thought you'd finished with them?"

"Yeah well, they obviously decided to hit me with one last mission before the end date"

"You know anything about it?"

"No, no information at all"

"Real strange because Santos got a call this evening as well"

"We haven't been put together for a long time, he know anything?"

"No, same response as what you probably got"

"Tank, I tried to call Stephanie, but she's obviously busy or her phone is dead"

"Probably the last one, it's been real quiet on that front, in fact we haven't had any skips from Vinnie this week, come to think about it"

"Keep an eye on her will you?"

"Ranger, I do that anyway. She means a lot to me and the men here"

"Thanks for that Tank, but you know what she's like"

"Yeah I know, too independent to ask for help, but we'll keep an eye on where she goes"

I finished the call, and let out a sigh, yeah me sighing. Next I had to change my flights for tomorrow and then go upstairs and get my ready bag checked over, I always kept one at each of the offices just in case a call came through. I wasn't overly worried about the call but the fact that Santos was going as well had me feeling apprehensive, we were the best and for us both to be called meant some serious shit must be going down.

I never slept well before a mission, I had to get into a mindset and I was finding it difficult to center myself, that's why I would visit Steph before I left, for some reason she helped to ground me, even if it was to simply watch her sleep. She always looked so perfect asleep, never still, and her movement and sounds always stirred something inside of me, a wanting, and not just for sex, because with her it had never been just sex. I'd never spent the night asleep with another woman before her, but with her, even when she'd refused the sex, I felt a connection with her, a harmony I'd never experienced before. For the first time I didn't want her to get back with Morelli and I wanted her to be with me.

The flight up to Washington was uneventful, I'd had to get a commercial flight up there, as there were no usual military places available, I transferred across to the military base and proceeded to the building and conference room where all mission briefings occurred. Santos was already there so I went to sit next to him.

"You know what's going on Ranger?"

"No, nothing was said"

"Well I heard that there are two teams in play, but neither will know about the other, which to me is more than stupid"

The door opened and the Colonel walked in handing us both a file.

"Gentlemen"

"Sir"

"I know this call came at short notice but we have a situation that needs to be dealt with. I know you two work well together, so on to business. You have some reading material in front of you, read and digest, I'll give you an hour"

The file wasn't that thick but as I read the contents the need to act became apparent.  
"Shit Ranger, they think there are nukes out there waiting to be brought over here?"

That's what the file said, I just looked at Santos; sometimes he said the obvious. The government was concerned that a small nuclear device could be brought into the United States and needed Intel and information on the buyer. Once they had that information then another team would take out the buyer and retrieve the device, to hopefully dismantle it. The Colonel had returned so I assumed he was ready to give us more information before shipping us out.

"What's in the file is a simplistic overview. We have no idea who the buyer is, which is where you two come in, I need you to identify the buyer, if you illuminate the seller, then so be it"

"Colonel what if we locate the device?"

"We'll send a specialized team in to deal with the device, we need to know who the buyer is Captain, otherwise he'll just go to someone else. He's our target, we know there are all sorts of weapons out there on the black market, we're never going to stop that, but an American prepared to kill is unacceptable"

All right I could see where he was coming from, how could someone kill innocent Americans in there own land unless they were mad or totally devout to the Islamic indoctrination?

"What information do you have for us to follow?"

"Not a lot, I want you to go in as civilians, your cover will be as civil engineers, but once you're there you do your thing"

"Extraction?"

"The usual, helicopter from one of the bases out there, but I've set up a contact for you to call me directly, I'm not sure how secure our secure lines of communication are"

"Are you saying we have a leak?"

"No, I'm saying that I want direct communication with you"

"When do we leave?"

"Tonight, so you need to pack and get ready, remember you'll have to obtain any weapons once you're out there. That's why you have Santos with you"

He grinned; yeah Santos thought his contacts out in Iraq were a secret.

Santos and I had to rethink everything that we could now take with us, and have appropriate clothes for the flight. By 2300 we were sat on a commercial flight going to Baghdad, it was going to be a long flight with one stop over, and luckily the Colonel had booked us first class tickets so that we could try to sleep. Needless to say the plane for the second leg was exceptionally quiet so it gave us a chance to put some sort of plan in place.

"How good are your contacts out there Santos?"

"They're good, generally I trust them but never give them the full story. They're good with rumors and gossip, seem to hear where any action is going down, they just don't seem to be able to connect the dots and see the relevance of what they know. They'll get us equipment no problem and seeing as the Colonel gave us a lot of cash that shouldn't be a problem"

"So we start in Baghdad, where can we stay?"

"There's a small building I've used before that has small apartments, I'll sort that out when we land"

"Transport, I'll find us something, we'll need something reliable and all terrain"

"What equipment do you want?"

"Well we have binoculars and mikes and ear buds, so the usual, hand guns, knives, stun grenades, just the stuff in our normal go packs"

"All right, I'll get a full med kit as well, just in case"

By the time we had landed I felt organized; once Santos had our accommodation sorted we could start the arduous task of collecting information and following leads. Customs was slow but we had no problems so were soon on our way into the outskirts of the town, staying within the green zone. The CIA and U.S Embassy do a great job handling Intel and possibly threats to US expats in Iraq, including potential bombings, danger zones, and kidnapping. Plus, an American isn't going to live where the normal Iraqis live which are dangerous and unsafe places, it was still safer not to be sleeping in certain areas of the city, and we didn't know how long we would be here for. By the second night we had everything we needed and at last I felt that we could actually start on the goal of our mission. The place where Santos was meeting his contacts was a run down café so we both decided to go prepared for trouble. The guys we met couldn't have been more helpful; they gave us so much information I'm sure it would take weeks to follow everything through. They knew where any arms could be bought and how much for, but what was interesting was that there were some new players around.

We'd spent the week in Baghdad following up on leads, most of the deals going down were for small arms, local militia groups hoping to cause unrest, but no sign of any nuclear device or talk of any big deals going down.

"Ranger, Mo just called, he said that there's talk on the streets of an Egyptian guy whose crossed one of the buyers and ended up with his house in Cairo being bombed, you think maybe he was our middle man"

"Maybe, but why try to kill him?"

"Not sure, maybe he was doing a double cross, do we need to go to Cairo?"

"Do we have any contacts there?"

"Maybe, though the story is he wasn't there when it happened"

"Can we find out who he was?"

"Give me a bit of time and I'll see what I can do"

"If you can get the name of the place I'll call Tank to do a search for the owner"

I spent the next hour combing through news items on a possible explosion near Cairo and came up with only one small snippet, but it did give the name of the villa, Maria, and that it had been owned by an Egyptian, that in itself was why it was newsworthy, it was unusual for an Egyptian to be targeted.

"Tank"

"Ranger, everything okay?"

"Slow, I need some information on a house in Cairo that was bombed, named Maria, I'm after anything on the owner or if it was rented"

"On it"

"Any other news?"

"Well it seems Vinnie has left town, Harry got fed up with his behavior round town, so he's been relocated to Philadelphia"

"The bond business has gone?"

"Yeah, the girls all seem to have found other jobs"

"Steph?"

"Not heard from her, but word is she got herself another job"

"Doing what?"

"Don't know, she's keeping it to herself, seems Morelli thought that should make her want to take him back, so she hasn't told anyone what the job is"

"Check out her bank account and find out, you know how Steph can end up in the middle of chaos without realizing it"

"Will do, call me back tomorrow and I'll have more info for you"

That news didn't sit comfortably with me, did that mean she was moving on and wouldn't want to stay in touch? Our contact had always been through her work, or mine, and I felt a small chasm at the thought of loosing touch with her. Santos had just come in so I went to find out what he had learned.

"Strange one, that explosion in Cairo"

"I found a name for the property and have asked Tank to follow it up"

"How's Steph?"

Yeah, even Santos had a soft spot for her and liked to know that she was safe.

"Vinnie's closed up and left town, pressure from Harry"

"And?"

"Apparently the girls all have new jobs, but Tank says Steph is keeping hers quiet, she doesn't want the pressure from Morelli, or probably her mother as well"

"You ask Tank to find out? Of course you did, I'd miss not seeing her around. Why didn't she go to Tank for a job?"

'Probably because she'd think it would be a pity offer"

"Hell she's one of the best researchers I've ever seen"

"Yeah, but she doesn't have the confidence to believe that. So what did you find out?"

"That the owner is Egyptian but isn't often there, that he must have had a business deal that went wrong, talk is he has information that someone didn't want getting out"

"So not our buyer then?"

"No, but maybe he knows who the players are"

There were no more leads to be had here in the capitol, which wasn't surprising really, too many organizations trying to keep things peaceful and too many covert operations going on. In the morning we were heading south out into the smaller towns so after we had packed everything into the truck and were cleaning down the apartment so no evidence of who we were would be left, there was one last thing to do before we left.

"Report"

"Not good Ranger. The house came up as belonging to a corporation, but under that are layer upon layer of bogus information, I've asked Silvio to try and break through it. The other news isn't good either. I followed up on our Little Girl, man I don't know where this job of hers is, and nobody else does either. She spoke with the girls last week and called to see Mary Lou, but I don't think she knows much, just said that it was a safe job. The bank account is just plain weird. There's a payment from Harry, I presume some sort of severance pay, but there's another two payments that I can't get to the bottom of"

"How do you mean?"

"Well it comes up as a payment from a business account, but the business doesn't exist. Silvio reckons it's from an off shore account. Problem is no one's seen her this week, she hasn't been back to her apartment, and so I've brought the rat here for the time being. Ranger she just seems to have vanished. The neighbors said they'd seen a Bentley picking her up early in the mornings and dropping her off in the evening, but not this week"

"Shit, do you think she's in trouble?"

"Don't know, the apartment's clean, no damage, apparently Morelli got into a scuffle with the driver of the Bentley, so he's not happy either"

"Keep digging, I'll be out of contact for a while but when I can I'll get back to you"

Dam it, why did I have to be here when I should be looking for Steph.

"Everything okay back home Ranger?"

"Nothing on the house and Steph seems to have disappeared"

"Well maybe the new job had her moving?"

"Don't think so, her pay came from a strange account. I just have a feeling that she's maybe in trouble"

"Tank's good, he'll find her"

The problem was I didn't think he would and Steph had an uncanny way of finding trouble without even looking.

"We ready to head out?"

"Yeah my snitches said to try Karbala first, especially west of the town"

We were dressed to blend in, wearing what any local Iraqi would wear, even the truck I'd got looked beat up, though it was mechanically sound. It wouldn't take long to reach Karbala by road; we just had to be careful of ambushes, and hope that wherever we found to stay was secure. I think we'd be sleeping in the truck for a while. The city itself was quite big with a population of 700,000 so we wouldn't be staying in the center, we needed to head out to some of the villages west of there and scout out any of the local meeting areas. Both Santos and I spoke the language, and as long as Santos didn't draw attention to the color of his eyes, we could blend in.

There was certainly something amiss as we hit a small hamlet, probably the most westerly habitation in Iraq. But it wasn't the men that had our attention; it was some of the women. There was quite a gathering around where they got their water. It wasn't easy to get close to them, the women tend to keep themselves isolated, rarely talking to men let alone strangers, but we felt that what they were talking about was causing them to be more vivacious than you would normally expect. I managed to find a shady spot not far from where they were washing their clothes.

"It can't be true"

"It was, I've never seen anything like it"

"What happened next?"

"You should have seen the men, they were almost afraid, and certainly didn't want to go near after that"

"Did they live?"

"Of course, no one is going to bring about their own demise by making a stupid move"

"So where are they now?"

"Still there, but with a certain amount of freedom"

"What are they doing there?"

"I don't know, I worry for them"

"Why?"

"The little one, its no place for a little one"

"But you said they were safe"

"At the moment, but the little one is being protected at the moment"

"Why are they being held?"

"I don't know, but in the morning we have to have everything ready for a visitor"

"Maybe the visitor is important?"

"For all the effort he should be, poor Alya has scrubbed the place clean"

"Do you need any more help tomorrow Sona?"

"No, they wouldn't let you near anyhow, they don't know you. Only Alya and I are allowed anywhere near"

The conversation changed to the food they would be preparing so I quietly returned to the truck where Santos was waiting.

"Apparently a couple of the women are preparing for an important visitor to arrive at a camp out of town"

"Could be something, we haven't heard anything else worth following up on, what's the plan?"

"Somehow we need to work out where this camp is, it's probably well hidden and guarded"

"Why not just follow the women when they go there?"

"We'll need to go on foot, and once we work out where it is we are going to need to do a full surveillance to know where the guards are positioned"

"Let's get the packs ready and then find somewhere to wait for them, gonna be a long night"

It was a long night, but we'd found a derelict building to hide out in, away from the hamlet and the children playing, we were as comfortable as we were going to get. Santos took first watch allowing me to sleep, on jobs like this I had learnt to take whatever sleep I could. My sleep wasn't as restful as I would have liked and as I took over the watch while Santos got to sleep I mulled over the strange dreams I'd had. Whenever my dreams disturbed me it usually involved my Babe, I couldn't shake the feeling that she was in trouble, I just didn't know what or where, I wonder if Tank had learnt any more information.

The day hadn't quite started when I heard the chatter of the women; I woke Santos and held a finger to my lips. We quickly gathered our things and waited for them to be ahead of us, also being sure no one was following them at a distance. The terrain was quite open and we needed to hang back so they couldn't see us, also we didn't know at what stage guards would appear. In the distance was a large outcrop of rocks rising out of the desert and it was here that the women seemed to be headed for. They veered into the rocks and disappeared from view.

"Lets circle around the rocks and head up, that must an entrance, I don't see those two rock climbing with every thing they're carrying"

It took longer than we thought to go around and approach the rocks from a different direction before we started to climb, we needed the sun to be behind us, that way we'd be more difficult to see and when we used our binoculars the sun wouldn't reflect from them.

"Watch out for guards"

Yeah, Santos had a point but my gut was telling me differently.

"I don't think there'll be many, no one would think that this place could be found"

We climbed not seeing or hearing anything, then as we moved through a small cut out between the rocks there below us was the camp. There were several small tents, I presume for sleeping and two large canvas awnings, one covering crates and boxes and one for food preparation and eating.

"You think there are weapons in those boxes?"

"Could be, but we've no way to tell"

"Ranger, look to the south, there's a dust storm which looks like a tell for a vehicle"

Sure enough a truck was travelling quickly toward the rocks, we waited and watched as it came into the encampment. It stopped in front of a small stone built building and four men got out.

"Three look local, dressed in a tunic and trousers but the fourth is in khaki trousers and shirt, can you see his face?"

"No, it's covered up, it looks like he doesn't want anyone to see him"

The man disappeared into the building with the three as guards at the door. It was at least an hour later when one of the women was called over and spoken to, she didn't seem happy with what was said, and at one stage the guard seemed to shout at her and push her away.

"Keep your eye on the building, I'll follow the woman"

She walked toward one of the smaller tents and went inside, moments later she reappeared dragging a small child behind her, heading back toward the building. The child was a small girl, dressed in a tunic and had long brown hair. I was so intent on watching the child disappear through the door that I almost missed a women running after them, again dressed in a tunic and trousers with a band covering her hair and face. She was stopped at the door by the guards, but from her stance she wasn't intimidated by them, instead she faced them and pushed her way through the door, in fact the guards seemed hesitant in stopping her.  
"What the hell was that about?"

"No idea, the women don't normally behave that way"

Minutes later the woman emerged with the child in her arms, I couldn't stop watching her, I was drawn to see what she did next. What she did do next took the air from my lungs; she had stopped in front of the tent and turned to look straight at me.

"If that woman wasn't dressed in a tunic with a band around her hair and face I would have sworn that she was Beautiful"

The thing is from the way I had reacted toward her looking at me, I would have said the same, but it couldn't be, she was half way round the world at home, wasn't she?

"Ranger, you've gone quiet"

"Sorry, but it felt like Steph to me, the way she knew where I was and looked straight at me"

"Nah, she's back at home, she couldn't be here"

The thing was that my gut and heart were saying it was her, but my head was saying she couldn't be, for the first time in my life I didn't know. We remained where we were, watching and waiting. All was quiet below, the three guards had stood in front of the tent where the woman and child were and the older women had left some food at the door to the building, but it was left untouched. The women left soon after, taking the remnants of the food with them, probably to feed their own families. As the sun began to sink the three guards moved to the truck and I faintly hear the sound of the engine, the man from inside came out and climbed into the passenger seat and the truck took off.

"We gonna see where it goes?"

"Yes, I think he may have something to do with this, I just can't figure out what he was doing here"

As we climbed back through the cut out we could vaguely see the truck as it travelled north, back toward the hamlet or probably Baghdad. We followed, not worried now about being seen, but the truck was too far ahead and too fast.

"What now?"

"Lets see if the two women are about, their conversation may give us a clue"

We found them by the outdoor taps washing pots and chatting away, for some reason I thought about how Steph hated the way women from the Burg would gossip, but it seemed it happened all over thee world.

"Oh, that poor child"

"What happened Alya?"

"That boss man made me go fetch her to him, she was terrified"

"Did he do anything to her?"

"Didn't get a chance, the older one came after us and was shouting at the guards and just pushed her way in"  
"They didn't stop her?"

"No, she truly is a force of nature is that one, she came back out minutes later with the child in her arms"

"He won't hurt them will he?"

"I hope not"

For some reason I felt that the woman and child might be in danger, it was the way that the women had talked about them showing they were concerned, plus they'd seen the man we were after, so maybe we could help each other.

"Santos I think we need to get back to the camp"

"Why?"

"If that man was involved in weapons trading then that woman and child know what he looks and I don't think they are there because they want to be"

It was dark and slow going getting back to the camp, we'd just started to climb the rocks when we both ducked down at the sound of gunfire, automatic rifles, military, and there were a lot of rounds being fired with very few returning shots being heard.

"We need to get down there"

It was hard going moving down through the rocks, we didn't want to be seen and decided to enter it from the most southerly part. By the time we got down into the camp it was eerily quiet, the gunmen had left in their truck that they had parked at the outer edge to the rocks, obviously coming in on foot and surprising the men in the camp. We looked around at the carnage and death left behind. The tents were burnt to the floor, with bodies in one of them. I didn't want to look at the tent where the woman and child had been, but Santos obviously decided for me by going over and looking through the debris.

"Empty, no one was inside"

"Do you think the gunmen took them with them?"

"No"

I turned drawing my gun at the young man who had shouted out at us. He was bleeding from gunshot wounds to his stomach and shoulder, and to be honest he looked like he wouldn't last long. Seeing that he was no threat I went over to him as he lay on the floor on his side.

"They weren't there, the men who attacked us were angry when they realized the tent was empty, they were asking each other what they were going to tell their boss if he knew they were gone"

"Who were the woman and child?"

"I don't know, we were to told to get them and bring them here, we captured them from a group across the border, then brought them here. I don't know what he wanted with them, or why he would want to do that"

"What's your name?"  
"Sami, I tried to help them as best I could. The other men were frightened of the older one"

"Why?"

"Yazen thought he could have her, but he ended up dead, so the rest decided she was mystical"

"I'm sorry Sami"

He was fading fast, his breathing was labored and he had blood bubbling from his mouth, a sure indication of lung damage, there was nothing I could do. As he lost consciousness I repeated the words he would need to hear.

"Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah. Peace and blessings of Allah be upon you"

I stood up and looked around trying to figure out what the hell was going on. What was so important about the women? And who were they?

"Santos, anything in the crates"

"Old machine guns, very little ammunition, some old IEDs, no new tech or evidence of what we're after"

"Let's get out of here"

"Where did the woman and kid go?"

"He didn't know, maybe they made a run for it, I just don't know"

By daylight we'd returned to the truck at the hamlet, it was just coming up to dawn and families were stirring.

"We need to move out of here before people wake up and come outside, let's head back to Baghdad and see if we can pick up a trail, maybe he headed for the airport, in fact it might be a good idea to get the list of passengers who came in yesterday and compare it to those who left today"

"What about the woman and child?"

"I wouldn't know where to start looking, get the truck packed up, I'll be back in a minute"

He gave me a strange look but started to do as I had asked. I went to the area I knew Alya lived in and waited by the water taps for her to appear. Sure enough she came to the taps to collect water in the jugs she was carrying. I approached from in front, holding my hands up, trying to say I wasn't a threat.

"I need to find the woman and child"

She was obviously very wary of me; I doubt she'd tell me anything even if she knew something.

"I know she was at the camp yesterday and that they may be in danger, I want to help them"

"She's at the camp out side town"  
"No Alya, everyone is dead, but they're missing"

Alya sat down hard, obviously surprised at what I'd said to her. I wrote the number for the cell phone I carried here in Iraq onto the back of a piece of paper and gave it to her.

"Please Alya, if you hear anything about them, call me, I need to find them"

"I will, but bad man came yesterday, did he do it?"

"I don't know"

I left Alya nursing the number to her chest, tears in her eyes, I didn't mean to upset her, but if that was what it took then I'd do it again. Santos was waiting in the truck, I ignored his questioning look, he'd probably think I was mad asking the old woman for information, but Alya had confirmed that she knew of whom I was talking about. Now all I could do was wait and keep looking. We made our way slowly back to Baghdad stopping off at any hamlets, looking for that truck or any of the three men that had been with him. It was evening by the time we returned to the apartment we'd started in. I felt despondent, yes we'd probably seen a key person, but we were no nearer identifying him, the seller or finding the nuclear device. Going over everything we had, and the photographs taken we each went our own way to our rooms. I kept thinking of where the woman and child were, were they taken or did they run, were they hurt? There was nothing I could do about it so focused on what we would need to do. In the morning we needed to access the passenger lists for flights in and out of Baghdad.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

SPOV

I could feel the early morning sun as it started to shine across my face, I know I had dozed during the night, but had some terrible dreams. Poor Mia must wonder what the hell was wrong with me and how it was me that was supposed to look after her. I turned to look at her, at least where she had been during the night. She wasn't there, the bag we'd brought was still where she'd left it, but looking around I started to panic as I realized she was nowhere in sight. I tried to sit up and gave out a small groan, my shoulder was hurting so much I couldn't move properly and I struggled trying to stay conscious. I had to find Mia; I was supposed to protect her, how could she be gone? Had someone found us and taken just her? I was now laid on my good side, trying to push myself up onto my knees so at least I'd have a chance at standing up. I felt dizzy and closed my eyes and then heard the sweetest sound.

"Steph, don't move, I went and got help. It's Sona, remember her?"

I think I nodded but then felt arms around my waist and me being lifted to my feet. I put my good arm around Mia and with the two of them almost carrying me we walked out of the derelict building and across the road then in through a doorway. We went from there into another room where I was gently lowered onto a mattress on the floor with blankets covering it. Sona pushed me over onto my side and cut away the tunic and removed my makeshift bandage.

"Oh Steph it's all red and there's stuff coming out of it, you said it was just a graze, you got shot"

"Mia, I'll be fine. What's Sona doing?"

"She's got some hot water and is going to clean it up"

The touch of the cloth made the pain shoot down my arm, what the hell had I done to myself? I was sure it was just a graze.

"Steph, she's putting some plants into a bowl and squishing them around, I think she's going to use this on your wound" I could hear Sona talking to Mia, obviously showing her what she was doing, I heard Sona saying "Sheeh" so maybe that was the name of the plant. I felt the paste on my shoulder and then bandages were being wrapped around my shoulder. That's the last I felt or heard as my eyes grew heavy and my body relaxed. I think I was aware of talking around me and at one stage I'm sure I was fed something warm and spicey, almost like a broth, but they were only fleeting memories. When I eventually became more aware of my circumstances I could hear and see Mia sat on the floor on a cushion playing with a small rag doll. She turned and looked at me, her face breaking out into a huge smile. "At last, you're awake, how are you feeling?" "Well, I'm awake so that must be a good sign, how long have we been here?" "This is the second day, I think Sona was starting to get worried about you" I didn't know what to say to that, had that injury really caused me to be so ill? "You look much better, at one stage you were all hot and sweaty, I helped Sona keep you cool by wiping water on your head and neck" An infection, the wound must have got infected. I tried to turn to sit up but still felt very weak. "I'll help you sit up, but you need to get your strength back, I'll go get Sona" My shoulder didn't hurt as much as it had, but I could feel the bandage still on it. Sona came in through he door with Mia, both of them smiling. She bent me forward and removed the bandage, inspecting the wound, then put some cushions behind me and helped me to lean back. "I think she's pleased, it looks so much better, she's not putting anything on it" Sona disappeared again and returned with a bowl and some flat bread, handing them to me. Yeah, I did feel a bit hungry and they both tasted delicious so I slowly started to eat, knowing not to eat too quickly. When the bowl was empty and the bread had gone she was sat on the floor beside me smiling. Now what? What would happen to us now I seemed to be better? I spent some time with Mia sat with me, she told me everything that she'd been doing while I was not well. She'd learnt to cook some of the vegetables they used, helped prepare some meals and had even managed to learn the words of the things she'd been doing. "Sona made me this doll, she says it's called Damiya, that's Arabic for doll"

It was made from various pieces of material, wearing a tunic and a band around her head. The eyes had been drawn onto a face made from white cotton.

"She's very pretty Mia"

"I helped to make her, I drew the face on"

"You did a brilliant job. Mia, I'm gonna lay down and go to sleep, I suddenly feel very tired"

"That's okay, it's nearly time for me to go to bed as well, I'll go bring my mattress and lay down next to you"

I was asleep before she came back and woke the next morning feeling so much better. We spent the morning inside the little house, whilst it was very basic, it was very clean and tidy, there was a toilet out the back and Sona brought water for us to wash in and brought me a new set of clothes and a head band to wear. We needed to leave soon, to try to get home, but I didn't know how we'd do that without money or passports, hell I wasn't even sure where we were or how on earth we'd ever get home again. That evening Sona brought an older man into the room, Mia was nervous, and so was I. I didn't think he'd hurt us, but I didn't want him to pass us back to the man who had visited the camp. He was older than Sona with white hair that was tied back and a long white beard, he had a kind face that was expressive and eyes that seemed tired. I soon realized that she'd brought him because he could speak English and was being asked by Sona to find things out about us.

"My name is Akram, Sona is worried about you, and she has kept you hidden while you have been healing, but she's asked me to help"

"Tell Sona, thank you for everything she's done"

"She wants to know why you are here and where you came from"

"We're American, and originally we were in Cairo with Mia's father but we were kidnapped. We ended up at the camp that Sona was at"

"Are people still after you?"

"I don't know, but I think so"

"Where do you want to go?"

"Home to America, Mia what do you want?"

"To go home, maybe daddy is there"

I wasn't sure about her father, I didn't think he showed a lot of affection for Mia, but in the end he was her father.

"Not easy, maybe we can get you to Beirut, but Syria is not a good place to be and lots of their people are trying to leave. To get a place on a ship would be expensive and dangerous"

I needed to figure something out, I knew us staying in Iraq could end up with us being found, but maybe if we were in Lebanon I might be able to get hold of Tank, he'd help, I was sure of it, and if anyone could get us out of somewhere then the Merry Men would be the ones to do it.

"Could you get us into Lebanon?"

"Maybe, it will take some organizing"

"If we can get to Beirut and I can get in touch with a friend, he can get us out"

"All right, I'll see about getting you into Lebanon, once there you can use the local small buses, but you'll need some local currency. The borders will be a problem, let me see what I can do. I'll ask Sona to prepare you for what could be a very long and dangerous trip"

"Thank you"

He smiled and then spoke very quickly to Sona, she kept looking from him to me, I don't think she was happy with what we were about to try and do, but we had to do it.  
"Mia, are you going to be okay travelling?"

"Yes, we've survived so far, so I'm sure we'll make it"

It was another day before Akram came again, but as he approached us he seemed pleased with himself.

"I have arranged for some people to take you, it will take some time in order to avoid cities and borders, but I think you could make it"

He thought we could make it, so it could be dangerous, were the people we were travelling with trustworthy?

"Why are you and these people doing this?"

"It is the right thing to do, you are an innocent in all of this, that child deserves to go home. The people who are helping want to feel that they are doing something good, something right"

"Thank you Akram, when I get back home, is there anything that you and the village might need, if I can help?"

"You see how we live, simply but generally we are happy, as long as the militants do not win"

I didn't know what to say or to do to express the gratitude that I felt, maybe there'd be something, I'd have to think about it, first we needed to get home. Akram had written down the names of the people and where they would pick us up from, Mia and I had to memorize them because he couldn't afford for that information to get into the wrong hands. Our journey would begin early in the morning, travelling with a caravan of camels going from here to a place called Rutba. Mia was looking forward to it, me not so much. Sona had prepared us with two more sets of clothes, one for our journey to Lebanon and another more European for once we got into Lebanon. Akram had given me some Lebanese pounds for that final leg by bus and also for some accommodation while we waited for a rescue. We'd discussed going to an American Embassy, but decided that as we couldn't guarantee anonymity, basically anyone could be bought for the right price, we wouldn't risk it. So the next morning while it was still dark Sona walked with us once again out into the vastness of the desert, I'd be sorry to say goodbye to her, she'd become a true friend even with the language barrier and she really doted on Mia.

As we approached a group of men, Sona called out to get their attention, they all looked our way and then returned to their work. These were the people who would be leading their camels packed high with the goods they would transport across the desert. It was obvious that the caravan was about to set off, the camels had been loaded up and the men were checking the ropes and packs, I would imagine it's a skill to get the camels ready to go. Each camel had a blanket on its back and then there was a wooden rack tied around them, the racks on some of the camels were loaded with bags, of what, I wasn't sure. There seemed to be two camels per person and as we approached one of the men took hold of Mia's hand and led her to one of the camels. Another man did the same with me, so we were going to be riding separately. We both waved to Sona as the camels rose to their feet, the man behind me had to hold onto me because as the camel rose by his back legs first I felt as though I was going to topple forward. Once up I sat behind an upright section covered in material and was shown to loop one leg around and in front of it. It was a good job Sona had known that we would need to wear trousers. The rider behind me then folded a blanket around my shoulders and over my head, with a narrow space to see out with. When I turned he pointed to his eyes and the sand, so I assumed that the blanket would protect me from the sand. I smiled at Mia as she sat on her camel smiling; well at least we seemed to be relatively safe with this group of men, at least that's how I felt. The pace was slow but steady and we didn't stop at all, instead the man behind me passed me water and dates to chew on. Conversation was non-existent, so I made the most of this time to think. To think three weeks ago I was a bounty hunter, in Trenton New Jersey. It seemed impossible to believe what had happened since then. I actually missed being home, well the friends back home, Connie and Lula, and I wondered what they were doing now? Mary Lou and Kenny, how Lou would despair if she knew what had happened. And Ranger, oh god, I would really like to see him again, in fact I wanted more than that, but considering the mess I'd got myself into he probably wouldn't want to know, or would he. Yeah, he'd want to know, and I'm sure he'd do everything he could to help. I hope he was doing okay on his mission, wherever he was, maybe he was even home by now. I wonder if he would look for me, if he missed me would he try? For once I actually felt safe sat up high on the camel, there was no pressure to make decisions and for once someone else was in charge. I still couldn't get my head round the what had happened to us, as I went through in my head all the events that had led us here the biggest question was why, why had we been taken and twice? Even for me that was not normal, but to end up in Iraq was mind blowing, a place you heard about on the news not somewhere you woke up in. It was hot and the sun had been bright but I was coping, well just. I hadn't noticed that the day was nearly over until the camel stopped. Now I knew to lean back as he went down on his front legs. The man behind me helped me down and held on to me as my legs gave way, I was stiff and sore from not moving. I joined Mia and we sat around a fire that had been lit.

"That was amazing, have you ever ridden a camel before Steph?"

"No, it was good, but it's a long time to be sat"

"Yeah, but the man behind me kept giving me food"

There was obviously a routine as to what each man did and it wasn't long before we were handed bowls with pasta in a stew with cabbage, onions and peppers. It was tasty and filled the hunger that had I had started to feel. I made sure that Mia ate and that she drank some water, she was my priority now. The men were laid on the other side of the fire, I was tired and curled up with Mia, with our blankets around us, warmth from the fire and the flickering of the flames soon lulled us to sleep.

It wasn't the cold that woke me it was the noise, who knew camels could make such loud noises. It wasn't quite light yet and I kept the blanket around me, we stayed out of the way as the men went about their tasks dealing with the camels. They were kicking and snarling as the men were trying to load them. It took time, I suppose to make sure the ropes were secure and the packs were balanced. No breakfast this morning and two different men approached us to take us to their camel and we were soon on our way again. This time the man behind me spoke some English, his name was Ras and he was forty-nine years old, though he really did look older. "What do the camels carry?"

"Blankets, salt, millet and sometimes we carry phones or radios"

"So how do you know which way to go?"

He laughed and took out a sat nav, okay a stupid question; you just don't associate modern technology when you're in the middle of the desert riding a camel.

"I learnt from my father how to rely primarily on my knowledge of the desert, landmarks, wind directions, sun positions and the stars, if these fail, but it's so much easier with one of these"

"Here it's time to eat and drink something"

He handed me a bowl that had in it something very similar to what we'd eaten last night,

But instead of pasta there was rice in it, which made it easier to eat with your fingers.

"How long will the journey take before you pass us off?"

"We reckon about four and a half days, as long as we don't get hit with a sandstorm.

Another three days, hell this was going to be a long session. I reckoned we'd travelled at least fifteen hours yesterday, so no wonder I was feeling tired. We both went quiet after that; it must be a hard life doing something like this day after day. I hadn't realized I'd fallen asleep until I felt a chill in the air; Ras was pulling another blanket around me. I was literally lent back into him and he had his arms around my shoulders.

"Sorry I woke you"

"No, I'm sorry I fell to sleep on you"

"It gets cold once the sun goes down, we still have a few hours yet"

I looked up at the sky, the stars were so clear and bright, they looked beautiful. Ras noticed me looking and he spent the few hours left riding pointing out stars and naming them, trying to teach me how I could use the stars to know which direction we were heading. At last we stopped and this time Mia and I watched as they tied the camels up and unloaded them. The next two days followed the same pattern and I found myself falling into a quiet mood, not wanting to disturb the peace that was around us. Mia was the same and when we spoke we tended to whisper, but we were both finding this mode of transport so tiring. We would only have about half a day left and I felt we needed to absorb the peace before the next stage.

RPOV

The passenger lists didn't give us any leads for an American who might have flown in and out of Baghdad. That left the private airfields and to be honest that was a non-starter, there were no proper manifests or paperwork kept and that didn't take into consideration the airstrips that could be used out in the desert. They could even have used a vehicle but I wasn't sure where they could have gone. I felt our only way forward was to find the woman and child, for some reason it was something I felt I had to do. After two days I decided it was worth the risk of calling Tank, maybe we needed to go to Cairo and look into the house that had been bombed.

"Report"

"Silvio couldn't find anything on the house in Cairo, it isn't used that often and is buried so deep to make it suspicious"

"What name is being used as owning it?"

"Melangio PLC"

"All right, maybe Santos and I need to go to Cairo"

"Ranger, we can't find Steph"

"What do mean you can't find her?"

"Who ever was paying her, we can't trace that either, Silvio's tried and he's pissed that there are two searches he's got stonewalled with"

"What about her trackers?"

"All at the apartment, probably because she had new clothes, hell new everything, so she wouldn't have them on her"  
"Car?"

"At the apartment, what we did though was to go back a week and find out the last time she had a tracker on her. She went to a house out of town, big gated, high security place; only it's absolutely empty, cleaned out. No belongings, no fingerprints and as it belongs to who ever paid her we have no idea who rented it"

"Rented it?"

"Yeah, the realtor said it's been let for nearly eight years by the same person, but it was all done over the phone with payments made every three months"

"So there's no one that ever went there that could give you some leads?"

"No, mail and deliveries were left in a special box at the front, can't find anyone who ever went in, no one who helped move them out or clean the house"

"Shit, I don't like it"

"Me neither"

"I suppose you've checked flights?"

"Yes, I've got Hector looking at private flights that left the morning after she was last seen"

"Is that the night she went with the man in the Bentley?"

"Yeah, Morelli was probably trying to harass her again"

"Let me know when Hector gets something, Santos and I are going to fly out to Cairo in the morning"

I shut down the phone to see Santos looking at me.

"We are?"

"We need to follow up that bomb that went off"

"Where's Beautiful?"

"Tank doesn't know"

"Shit, we should be home looking for her not running around the Middle East chasing our tails"

"I know, Tanks running down some leads, he'll let me know"

The following morning we flew to Cairo, another place I really didn't like. Too many tourists and not enough security, yet the country relied on a lot of it's income from tourists. We hired a car at the airport and I let Santos drive while I kept my eye on our surroundings, you just never knew in a place like this if something would suddenly escalate. When we reached the house there was a lot of workers at the site, clearing away the rubble, it looked as though they were planning on rebuilding.

"Santos you still got your civil engineering credentials?"

"Yes, you thinking of scamming your way in?"

"Worth a shot"

The workers were mainly local but there were some security guys around so we made our way toward them holding up our credentials.

"The boss asked us to call over if we were here in the city, take a look and let him know what we thought"

"Well he never mentioned anything to us"

"He around?"

"No, he flew back to the states"

"Which house is he at?"

"Washington I think"

"I thought he would be here to see this place rebuilt"

"Nah, emergency came up, his daughter went missing with her nanny, so he thought he'd head back"

"How'd she go missing?"

"Kidnapped, but he thinks he knows who has her, and that she's back in the states"

"How on earth did your security let that happen?"

"Insider, the boss is livid"

My gut was telling me that Steph was involved somehow with this, I mean she'd got a job for a wealthy man who we couldn't find looking after his daughter and here was a man who's house had been bombed and who'd had his daughter and nanny kidnapped. No such thing as coincidence in my world.

"The nanny, Steph, blue eyes, curly brown hair?"

"Yeah, real cute that one, the best he's ever hired"

Shit it was her, but where the hell was she now? Her name hadn't been on any manifest for flights out of America or going back. Who would want to kidnap the daughter or Steph?

"Why does he think she's back in the states?"

"Don't know, above my pay scale"

"When did the boss leave here?"

"Must be a week ago, so you'll need to get in touch with him yourself"

He turned and walked away, I think realizing he'd said more than he should. We returned to our car and sat, I was trying to piece things together.

"Well kidnapping is usually for a ransom, he's obviously rich but why wait a week to fly back to the states?"

"Maybe that's how long it took the kidnapper to get in touch"

A week ago we were at that camp in Iraq watching some guy and his interactions with a child and woman.

"Shit, how could I have been so unaware?"

"What you on about Ranger?"

"A week ago, that man in that camp with a child and woman"

"You think that was Beautiful?"

"At the time I felt some compulsion to go get her, but common sense just said it was a local woman and her child"

"So where is she and how do we find her?"

"For once I have no idea"

"Drivers"

"What?"

"He'll have used high end cars with full security, find out where he hired the cars and maybe the drivers came with the cars"

"Thanks Santos"

"No problem Primo, you're too emotionally attached, get your head on straight and focus on the goal"

He was right, I felt that by missing that opportunity at the camp I had let her down, hell, I should have followed my feelings and not my head then, and maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. Santos turned serious as he was remembering the scene we'd found at the camp.

"You know that man at the camp could have them?"

"Or they could have gotten away, you know Steph, she has an uncanny ability to get out of trouble"

"Yeah, until you need to find her"

"So let's go find her, if she's on her own she can identify that American and the man who lived here"

We had a plan and that was to hit all the high-end car and driver agencies. There were a lot here in Cairo because no one, except Santos, was mad enough to drive a car around Cairo. We were looking for an agency that could provide at least three cars that were bullet proof and high end, and we went to each one, dressed in business suits, looking for that single lead.

"Good afternoon Gentleman, how may I help?"

"We need three high end, bullet proof cars with drivers. What can you provide?"

I could see him grimace, now what was that about?

"Is that a problem, a close friend did recommend you"

"Well, I have two cars available at the moment, but by next week I'll have a full fleet again"

"Why's that"

"Someone took out three of my cars last week"

I remembered the name that Tank had said was the holding company that owned the villa and went with that name.

"Melangio Holdings I presume?"

"How did you know that?"

"That's who recommended you, but I spoke with the owner about two weeks ago"

"Mr. Burhan swore he wouldn't tell anyone"

Bingo, now we had a name, so next to get some additional information.

"Was anyone injured?"

"No, just my cars, weird really, because not all of the men they were driving turned up and apparently a young lady and her daughter didn't either so I presume the body guards managed to get them out and to safety"

"Isn't it unusual for individual cars to be hit, especially if it's an Egyptian who's rented them?"

"Yes, yes it is, the whole thing was strange from the beginning"

I raised an eyebrow for him to continue.

"Well for a father he just didn't seem that upset, more annoyed, but maybe I read him wrong"

"Well maybe we can speak with one of your drivers, to see how good he is, then we can make a decision as to whether we'll use your services"

"Of course, he's in the garage across the street, just tell him I sent you"

As we walked across the road to the garage I pulled Santos to one side.

"You take the lead with the driver, I want to see if I can find one of the damaged vehicles"

While Santos talked with the driver I wandered through the door at the back and into a workshop, there sat one of the vehicles riddled with dents where the bullets had hit.

"That one's the worst, it was in front and got most damage, the bullet proofing sheet worked well though"

"The hits are all at the bottom and in the boot?"

"Yeah, not aimed at anyone"

"The other cars the same?"

"The middle one, with the woman and girl in didn't get many hits, that's already been repaired"

"Thanks"

I found Santos outside; he seemed keen to share what he had found out.

"Seems the route they took wasn't one they usually followed, one of the bodyguards insisted on going on roads that are empty of traffic and not the fastest route back to the villa. He said that this one guard was very protective of the woman and child, didn't leave them alone all day, he remembered that he was called Aden"

"Let me get in touch with Tank, see if that name helps, did he say where they were ambushed?"

"Yeah, we should go check it out, though I doubt there'll be anything there"

We found the site of the ambush quite easily; it was a good place to do it, no streetlights, a corner coming into the straight road where the attack happened. We each took off to the side of the road to see if there was any evidence of other vehicles, interestingly I found several tracks for where they may have been parked and the direction they could have taken. There seemed to be a couple of jeeps, their wheelbase was narrower and the tracks not as deep. The others belonged to trucks, well laden when they set off. I called Santos over and showed him what I'd found.

"Where would that direction take them?"

"South, through the desert, but I don't see why they would go south, there would be no advantage in going into Sudan"

"What if they crossed the Red Sea across into Saudi and then into Iraq?"

"I think that's exactly what they did"

The question I was sure was coming next was, why? Why take Steph and the girl to Iraq, or maybe that wasn't their intention, what if they got attacked en route to where they were going?

"We need to follow the route they took, I don't think they were planning on going to Iraq, I think Saudi was there destination"

"So if this group was attacked it would have been close to where they'd crossed by ferry?"

We needed a better vehicle if we were travelling through the desert and a lot of supplies, certainly not a hire car. By the next morning we had already crossed the Red Sea and were making our way east using tracks already in existence. It didn't help that there had been sandstorms, the lay of the land had probably changed. After several hours we hadn't seen anything, no evidence that anyone had passed this way, maybe I was just chasing ghosts, but I could feel that we were on the right track. Half an hour later we found what we were looking for, the evidence was lying off the track beside a small dune. There were five bodies half buried in the sand, they'd been here awhile looking at how the sand had collected. We left the truck to take a closer look, with the heat and cold and no moisture it's hard to tell how long a body has been out here for, but a closer inspection showed that they had been tied up.

"How did they die? There's no evidence of any wounds, or bruising?"

I turned one of the men over and inspected his mouth, ears and nostrils.

"Sand, I think they were buried in the sand, but I also think that at least one person stayed alive and got them out, but they were too late"

"Three men and two women, no id, or anything to say who they were"

"So the original group was attacked themselves and Steph and the girl taken. We know they ended up in Iraq near Baghdad, now we need to find out where they are now"

"So what do you want to do?"

I lent my hands against the truck roof and rested my forehead between them. Where the hell was my Babe, I hope to god she wasn't hurt. I really didn't know where to go from here, maybe we should find Mr. Burhan; maybe Tank had a few more answers. I also needed to update the Colonel; maybe he'd had some more Intel come through.

"I think we need to regroup, speak with Tank and update the Colonel. Nearest airport?"

"Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport" 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

SPOV

It couldn't be long before we met with the people for the next stage of our journey, this would be a hard part, getting across the border, but Ras had said that getting into Syria wouldn't be a problem, getting out, now that was a whole different story, everyone was trying to get out. Ahead was a road, the first one I'd seen for ages, and parked up was a beat up minivan. As we approached three men got out, one young and two older. There were exchanges made between Ras and the younger man and then Mia and I were literally lifted down from our camels. I turned to Ras as I passed him.

"Ras, thank you for your help and please say a thank you to the other men in your group"

"Wadaeaan wallah maeak"

The camels began to move out leaving Mia and me with our three new friends, all were smiling at us and they each carried some plastic bags. I had become resigned to let the plans that had been made for us take their course, what else was I supposed to do? The younger one came up to us and bowed his head as he spoke.

"My name is Taha and I speak your language, my father and uncle do not, once we are moving you must not speak. We need to get you ready"

He turned and the older men brought their plastic bags, emptying them in front of me. Taha picked up, what looked like a sack stuffed full of something with cloth ties stitched to it. He came behind me and with the sack in front of me tied the ties over my shoulder and around my waist. I now had a sack on my front, what on earth were they up to? Next a burka was dropped over my head, falling to my feet and only having a slit for me to look out of. I knew now what they were trying to do, Mia was laughing so she had obviously caught on; I looked pregnant. One of the men had also put on a Burka, I presume so that he seemed to look like a woman. He pointed to the older men and then in a quiet voice started to give me the instructions I would need to follow.

"Your mother and father and I am your beloved husband. We have to get to the medical center because the child is due. You will scream and make noise of pain, and shout out

"inaha qadima, say it to me, 'iinaha qadima"

"'Iinaha qadima, what does it mean?"

"'Iinaha qadima, it's coming, remember you say nothing except that"

I was put into the seat next to my now new mum, who took my hand in his, Mia was in the next seat and Taha was driving with the other man in the front seat. I felt really nervous as the van began its journey down the road, it was hot inside the van and I could feel the sweat running down my face and back. I looked at the men in front, they didn't appear to be nervous and they were chatting and laughing with each other, I mean these people were going out of their way to help me, what would happen to them if this went wrong? I had to make this work; I knew I couldn't let them down. Mia decided to hunker down so that her face was next to my shoulder it was probably a good idea because if she started giggling when I started moaning and screaming I'd lose it. We hadn't been driving for long when I was aware of a change in the speed of the van. As we started to slow down I looked ahead through the windscreen, the border wasn't what I expected, though I don't think I knew what to expect, there were maybe three or four men standing underneath an open canvas tent in the shade; as the soldiers approached us I began my performance. I screamed and moaned as though in pain and as one soldier put his head through an open window I shouted out.

"'iinaha qadima, 'iinaha qadima"

My eyes were shut tight, as if in pain, but I did feel the van accelerate away from the border. Several minutes later Taha clapped his hands.

"Well done you gave a brilliant performance, the soldier believed you. We are now in Syria"

Looking around it didn't seem any different to where we'd been, Taha had said it was about 250 km to Damascus, with the border not that far away from there and then another 120 to Beirut, but the border into Lebanon would more difficult to get through, they had a plan though. We would be travelling for at least six hours and not all of the roads would be safe. Mia and I went to the back of the van and taking over a double seat each, we slept, or at least tried to sleep. I was hot and sticky and covered in a fine layer of sand, the sack in front of me didn't help. Was I nervous? Not really, more resigned to what was happening. I was seeing a car as it exploded in front of me, not my car, worse than that, it was a Porsche that had been hit with a garbage truck. I could smell the smoke in the air as the flames engulfed it, dreading what Ranger might say, how could I get his car blown up? Someone was shaking me and I realized that I had been dreaming, but the smell of smoke was here, outside the van. I sat up to see the burning remnants of a car as we passed it, a scene that I was all too familiar with. There were soldiers stood around it with their machine guns at the ready, but Taha didn't deviate from the road and drove past it slowly, not changing his speed or looking around. I closed my eyes and reached for Mia, pulling her to sit next to me, my arm around her shoulder pulling her face to my chest away from the scene outside.

Whilst the traffic was moving it didn't stop me from seeing the destruction all around, buildings with parts blown out, rubbish and debris in the street, it was evening but there were very few people out and about. There were some cafes and bars, so I assume the people left here were trying to live as normal a life as possible. We soon passed through the devastation, heading out into quiet roads, any buildings didn't seem to have lights as such, and where there were people a lot of families were sat outside around fires. I felt for them, for the future that they thought they might not get, families split when others decided to leave to find somewhere better to live. To have to live with the idea of not knowing where the next meal may come from, or if more explosions would tear down your home must be soul destroying. I could understand why Ranger felt the need to rid the world of evil if this is what evil could do. Everyone was quiet in the car, Mia had fallen back to sleep and the companions I had were intent on looking around for any danger. It wasn't long before we pulled up to a small group of buildings; Taha turned off the engine and turned to Mia and me.

"Here is where we leave you my friend and bid you farewell. I will introduce you to your next partner"

I held Mia's hand as we got down from the van, Taha touched the Burka and indicated that I took it off and then undid the straps of the sack. I'd almost got used to the additional weight and size of me. The older men had stayed inside the van so I smiled at them and gave them a finger wave pleased at the smiles I received back. A young woman, maybe my age came out of the hut we were parked next to, I was surprised that she was white skinned with short blond hair.

"Taha, it's good to see you, how is your wife and family?"

"They are good, thanks to you"

"Well are you going to introduce me?"

"This is a young woman and child who need your help as well"

"No problem, Taha, be careful driving back"

Taha was back into the van and was already driving away, the sun had already disappeared leaving it dark and cold, I turned and looked at this new woman who held our lives in her hands.

"Hi, I'm Suzie, I'm taking you over the border in the morning, so come in and I'll let you know how"

She sounded foreign but I really wasn't sure what nationality she was. We followed her into a small room that served as a kitchen and lounge area.

"There's a bathroom through there that you can use later, water isn't hot, but it's clean. Okay, tomorrow there's a group of us travelling into Lebanon to help out at some of the refugee camps. We work for International Medical Corps, so there are doctors and nurses and health workers, all sorts of people who want to help. The best way tomorrow is for to be you, an American worker"

"So no disguise?"

"No, I borrowed my friends ID card, she looks a bit like you, just please remember to give it back to me as soon as we're over the border"

"What about Mia?"

"They won't bother about her if they think she's with us, we go over the border

regularly"

"Thank you Suzie, for helping"

"No problem, I'm glad to help out. I hear you've had quite a hard time out here"

I nodded, I wanted to shower and change and maybe we could talk afterwards. Suzie showed me to the bathroom and I got the clothes out that Sona had put in there, hell it seemed like an age since we'd left Sona in the desert. I took advantage of the shower gel and shampoo and conditioner, oh the feel of being able to clean my body and my hair, it felt so good I was almost moaning with the pure pleasure of it. Even Ranger couldn't compete with this. I toweled off and quickly dressed then finger combed my hair, it wouldn't take long to dry. Mia was waiting to go in as I left the bathroom.

"You manage on your own Mia?"

"Yes, I can't wait to get clean"

"Do you have your clean clothes with you?"

She nodded and disappeared inside the bathroom closing the door behind her. I found Suzie in the kitchen area, where she put a mug of hot coffee into my hands.

"God that smells and tastes wonderful"

"How long have you been in the desert?"

"I'm not sure, I kinda lost track of the days, but maybe three weeks or four"

"I'm amazed you survived"

"I've made a lot of friends on the way who have helped me"

"You know how to get out of Lebanon?"

"I hope so, a friend I know should help"

"Oh here's some information on Beirut, places to stay and eat and places to avoid, there's a map as well"

"Thanks Suzie"

"No problem, we need to rest up before we leave so if you don't mind I need to get ready, I'll wake you when we need to leave"

She went through a door; I presume into her bedroom leaving me in the main room. Mia came out and we sat on the couch for a while, me finishing my coffee and Mia with a bottle of water.

"I don't feel hungry today is that normal?"

"Probably not, you're stomach has shrunk because we haven't really eaten much, tomorrow though you eat"

I laid back on the couch as Mia snuggled in next to me, I was so nervous about tomorrow, crossing the border, then getting to Beirut but most of all calling Tank, he would help I was sure but a tiny seed of doubt was at the back of my mind. I didn't sleep well, every sound and move that Mia made seemed to jolt me full awake and it wasn't as comfortable on the couch as I had thought it would be. It was still dark outside when Suzie nudged my shoulder.

"We leave in an hour so if you want something to eat help yourself"

I found some cereal and made sure Mia ate as well, I wasn't sure when we'd get another meal, Mia looked thinner than she had been and I had certainly dropped a clothes size. Exactly an hour later Suzie led us outside, it was still cold and I shivered as we started to walk to the end of the block of huts to where a minivan was parked with its lights on. There were already people on the bus when we arrived, it seemed we were the last to get on because before I'd even sat down the door closed and the bus began to move forward. We were sat at the back so I could look at the people already seated. Everyone looked sleepy and no one seemed to notice us, which was good because I wouldn't know what to say. They seemed to be a mixture of ages, I wondered how they could be so committed to helping out in parts of the world like this, but then I remembered Taha and Sona. They were all innocent in the war that hit them so maybe the reward for these workers was seeing the people they helped get well and back on their feet. I wondered how many lives they must have saved. It didn't take long of driving on the road when I could see the border up ahead; the sun was just beginning to rise behind us, giving me a good view of what to expect. Everyone had been right about how much more organized the soldiers were at this border, there were more soldiers here than at the last border and they seemed more alert. Everyone had to get out of the van and walk through a line of soldiers with their ID, I decided to use the power of a smile, well why not, I was supposed to be a foreigner anyway, plus it seemed to work, most smiled back at me.

"Stop flirting with them"

I turned to see Suzie behind me, a wicked smile on her face.

"It would have been nice to have met you under different circumstances"

I agreed with her as I handed the ID back to her.

"We'll drop you off at the next town so you can get a minibus into Beirut"

Twenty minutes later the bus stopped and Suzie gave each of us a hug.

"Thank you Suzie"

"Nah, glad I could help, you just be careful now that you're on your own"

I waved as they left us on the street, I felt alone again, please let us get home, I want to feel Rangers arms around me telling me everything will be all right. There was a queue of people waiting so I hoped we were in the right place, Mia was quiet, one of the things that had happened to the both of us over the weeks was the need to be quiet, but I missed her constant chattering and laughing, I hadn't heard her laugh since we'd left Cairo. I wonder what the deal was with her father, was he looking for her, for us?

The ride to the city took longer than I thought, the van was constantly stopping to pick up or drop off passengers, no one took any interest in us and when it eventually stopped I realized we had reached our destination and I found a new hope stirring inside of me, now to get in touch with Tank.

It was hard to escape the overwhelming feeling of nervousness as we walked down the street from leaving the bus. We'd been on our own for so long the crowds of people felt as if they were tightening up around me, Mia was holding my hand in a death grip. The sound of talking, shouting and traffic was such a foreign noise after the quiet of the desert. Mia had my hand in a death grip and she was constantly looked at me for reassurance.

"I know Mia, I feel the same, but it'll pass"

There were several men around who seemed to be carrying weapons, maybe that was the norm here? I tried to use the map Suzie had given me but I struggled to find the name of the streets on any buildings, they just seemed to refer to a sector and street number, and those weren't on the map. We wandered around the streets slowly heading to a place that Suzie had said was a cheap and cheerful hostel. By the time we found it I was tired and thirsty, I needed to make sure that Mia had something to drink, that was one thing we'd neglected to do all day. Maybe there was a café near here where we could go after we secured a room? The hostel was tucked away behind large wooden doors, if I hadn't seen the name above the door I would have missed it and fortunately the name was written in at least four languages. Once we found someone they gladly showed us to our room. They had a room with two single beds and Mia and I were soon in the room enjoying the privacy and quiet. We both showered and cleaned ourselves up, god I must smell something awful. The reflection in the mirror didn't look like me, I had lost weight as well as Mia and my face looked gaunt, with dark circles under my eyes even with the slight tan just on my face I looked pale. Enough, we'd be out of here soon, just a few hours or maybe tomorrow we'd be on our way home. Home, that had a strange sound to it, I felt that I'd been away so long.

"Mia, I need to find a phone, come on let's go"

"Where we going?"

"Just downstairs"

She didn't want to go but liked the idea of being on her own even less. The place was small and quiet, thread bare carpets and chipped paint and wall paper but it seemed clean and there weren't many people about, after asking one of the girls who worked there she directed me to a telephone I could use. I felt nervous; really nervous as I put in lots of coins and dialed in first the international number, then Tanks, I think I was praying that he would answer.

"Hello"

"Tank is that you?"

"Steph, where the hell are you?"

"Tank I need some help"

"Tell me where you are and I'll be right there"

"I wish you could be Tank"

"Steph, what's wrong?"

"I'm in Beirut"

"Where?"

"Beirut, Lebanon"

"Shit Steph, that's gonna take a bit more organizing"

"I know"

Tears were running down my cheeks as I spoke with Tank, I'd put so much hope on him being able to do something.

"Steph where exactly are you staying"  
"It's a hostel on Airport Street, Behind Al Aytam Station, it's called Assahaya Hostel"

"Steph, I'll get you out. You need to stay safe and then call back in the morning and I can give you an update on getting you home"

"Thanks Tank"

As I replaced the receiver on the old style telephone Mia was looking at me with a face that I knew was had a difficult question for me to answer.

"Steph can I please phone my Dad, I want to let him know that we're all right?"

I couldn't refuse her even though I didn't think it was such a good idea. Would he come here? Where was he now?

RPOV

I felt the vibration of my phone from inside my trouser pocket, strange; no one would call this phone when I'm away on a mission. I'd used the one I'd bought here to contact anyone and blocked the number.

"Ranger?"

"Tank what's wrong?"

"Steph phoned just now"

"Where is she?"

"You're not gonna believe it when I tell you"

"Tank"

I was losing my patience, for some reason I knew I had to get to her quickly.

"She's in Beirut, Lebanon"

How the hell had she ended up there?

"Ranger, you still there?"

"Yeah, where Tank?"

"A hostel called Assahaya Hostel on Airport Street, behind Al Aytam Station. I told her to call back in the morning when I knew how we'd get her out"

"I'll go, if she calls tell her I'm on my way, I'll pick her up from the hostel as soon as I get there"

"How long till you get there?"

"A few hours, we're in Baghdad"

"How will you get her out of the country, she won't have a passport"

"I know a way"

I grabbed a bag and packed some clothes, and then I made the reservations for the flight there, the only problem we had was that we couldn't take our weapons with us. I called out to Santos; I knew he'd be travelling with me.

"Santos, pack up, we leave in half an hour"

"Where to?"  
"Beirut"

"What's turned up there?"

"Steph has"

"In Beirut, how the hell is she there?"

"Not sure but we've found nothing new here in Baghdad so I'm taking her home, I'll sort it out with the Colonel"

"I'm in"

I knew he would be, he loved Steph almost as much as I did, no not as much, at least I hoped not. The flight would only take an hour and a half, then maybe an hour to get to the hostel; we'd pick up a hire car at the airport because I didn't trust the taxi drivers there, especially if we were picking up Steph. So by my calculations we should be with her by eight. Everything went smoothly for once, the flight was on time, a car was available, so why was I feeling like something was about to go wrong?

"Santos, keep your guard up, I don't know why but I have a funny feeling something's going to go down"

"No problem, I'll stay with the car, Ranger, you're probably just up tight, we've been a step behind for ages"

"I know, but we didn't even pick up a scent that she was in Lebanon"

"I'm sure she's fine"

I went inside the hostel leaving Santos by the car, catching a young boy cleaning behind the reception.

"I'm looking for a woman and child who booked in this afternoon, she called and asked me to meet her here"

"Blue eyes, curly brown hair?"

"Yes"

"They went down the street to get something to eat, funny you're the second person to come in here asking for her"

"When was someone here?"

"Maybe five minutes ago"

"The café?"

He pointed to the left as I was running from the hostel.

"Santos, there's some one else looking for her, head down the street with the car, you're looking for a café that serves food"

I took off running down the street and quickly entered the café, looking quickly around, I couldn't see her, but for some reason I knew she was close.

"Young woman, child where did they go?"

The surprised waiter looked scared but pointed out through a back door. I could hear running and the unmistakable sound of a gun being loaded. I followed the sound, keeping to the shadows, one man ahead, another two running up stairs. I avoided the man on the street by going through a nearer door and heading up the stairs, maybe I could use the rooftop to cross over and come down into the building I needed to be in. I sent a text to Santos, telling him where I was and to keep a watch on the street below. I found a fire escape that allowed me to jump across to an open window and slowly crept through, listening for any sound. The building was derelict and looked to be in the middle of renovations, there were scaffolding posts allowing access to the high ceilings and jacks holding up sections that looked rotten. I could hear talking coming from below.

"Mia, I'm here to take you home"

"Daddy, is it really you?"

"Yes, come here, then we can go"

"How did you get here so fast?"

"I was close by when your call came through"

"But what about Steph?"

"Bruce will bring her down, now come here Mia, then we can leave"

I made my way down the stairs, where I knew the voices had come from, and could hear the retreating footsteps of two people on the stairs below. Then I tuned into where Steph was, she was still in the room she'd been in before, probably with Bruce. As I reached the floor she was on I could hear her shouting at him, the sound of a gun, and then there was the sound of running and the clanging of scaffolding pipes falling. As I reached the room I knew she was in I saw the man throw himself at her and send her down on the ground, but at the same time the ceiling began to collapse and more noise erupted as mortar came down, the last I saw of her was when the floor she was on collapsed with Bruce on top of her. It felt like the whole building was collapsing, the staircase was loosing its integrity, and the stone steps were falling away. I didn't care how I got down I needed to get to my Babe. The next floor was no better and it was only as I came to street level that I could see where they had ended up. I ran through the dust and still falling mortar and wood to where she should be. Santos was behind me as we started to move stone and wood to find her.

"Ranger, mans body here, I think Beautiful is underneath him"

We lifted the man and dumped him out of the way, I didn't care if he was dead or alive. I knelt down next to my Babe, she was still breathing but shit she looked badly injured. I cleared the debris from around her; there was a lot of blood coming from a deep gash in her head.

"Santos call the Colonel, we need an immediate evacuation to the best emergency facility in the area, tell him that Steph has seen the American and can identify both him and another one involved"

"Colonel says they're sending a HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter for a medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) to meet it at the golf course, north entrance"

"Do we have something we can use to lift her with?"

"I'll find something, you do what you can"

Santos returned quickly with a length of wood, it would do, but first we needed to move her onto it without jarring her back or her neck, I couldn't tell if she'd sustained any injury to either but I didn't want to risk it. I'd wrapped a tight cloth around the head wound; my shirt was now doing that job, there was no other severe bleeding on her body but as I cleared debris from her I'm sure she had injured her chest and maybe her pelvis. We used our belts to secure her to the wood and packed old bits from cushions around her neck and head to keep that area as still as possible. The car we'd hired was outside and Santos had already lowered the back seats, carefully we slid her in and with Santos at the wheel I laid next to her, whispering to her, telling her I was there, that she was safe. The five minutes seemed like an hour, but the helicopter was there waiting for us with a medical team. They transferred her to one of their boards and as the helicopter lifted they were already attaching an IV, pressure cuff and heart monitor. The head wound had been unwrapped, cleaned and a fresh dressing applied. At the sound of her heartbeat I let out a deep breath, it sounded strong, so like my Babe, she was the strongest woman I had ever come across, not physically, but her strength lay in her resilience, determination and success. I was surprised when the helicopter landed on the flagship of the sixth fleet, I wasn't aware they were so close to this side of the Mediterranean. As a team raced to move her out I stayed with them every step of the way through the doors and down the corridors until the last door was closed with me on the wrong side of it. I slumped down onto the floor, no waiting rooms here, and with my knees pulled up, head tilted back closed my eyes as I waited. I started to remember all the times I'd had with her, our first meeting in that diner, she never had been phased by me, she never showed any fear of me, instead she accepted me for who I was, even though she didn't know what I was capable of. She had always accepted my men, hell; she had stood up to us all and for us all. Never daunted by what she found, the thing is she always saw the best of someone and made everyone love her for who she was. I had been drawn to her from the very start, there was something about her that I couldn't shake and over time I didn't want to. I was stupid to make that deal with her, but at the time all I could think about was having her. The problem was that once we'd slept together it wasn't enough, I needed more and I still wanted more. Her relationship with Morelli had made me keep her at arms length, an excuse so I wouldn't have to let her into my life, my world, always saying that she couldn't be part of it when in fact she was already there. I was disturbed from my thoughts when Santos sat next to me.

"Any news?"

"No, hell. She fell so far, and all that stuff that fell with her, I just don't know how bad she'll be"

"She's a fighter, she be fine, a bit battered and bruised, but she'll come through"

"I hope so"

Santos brought me my laptop so that I could pull together a report for the Colonel; we sat together as I wrote out the last section; then turned to him to get his input.

"After you left I drove the car round the block and parked at the end, before I got out I saw a man get into a black Audi SUV, then the driver brought a child with him and literally had to manhandle her into the cars back passenger seat. It was then I saw the building begin to collapse and ran down the road to help you"

"You see anything that would identify the car?"

"No plates, no decals"

"So he wanted the kid and needed Steph out of the way"

"Seems that way, do you think it was the American?"  
"No, I heard the girl talking with someone I presume was her father"

As we thought through what we'd just said and I wrote everything into my report the door behind me opened.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't realize anyone was waiting out here"

"How is she doctor?"

"Well she has broken bones, her clavicle and a couple of ribs on the same side and a hairline in her pelvis. I cleaned up an old wound on her shoulder that still had some dirt in it and re stitched it. I'm more concerned with the head injury. The break to the skin was severe but we're treating that with antibiotics, the damage to her skull caused a shear injury the main symptom being a prolonged loss of consciousness. She's also malnourished and dehydrated so we're filling her up with fluids. She's had a rough time, but we'll get her through it"

"How long will she be unconscious for?"

"Hard to say, she could wake up at any time, I'll let you have some information so you know what to expect and can maybe talk her through some of it"

"Is it all right if I stay with her?"

"Of course, the nurse will be in regularly to check her vitals"

I was so relieved that there was nothing overly seriously wrong and at least she hadn't had to have any operations, the worry was the head injury, I could only hope that she woke up soon.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

SPOV

I could hear something in the background that sounded familiar but the gentle beeping was having a calming effect on me, I wasn't ready to investigate, I wanted to sleep. The next time I could hear anything it was a quiet voice that seemed so far away, too far away for me to wander who it was. My next conscious thought was that I was warm and felt safe and secure, in fact I had no idea where I was and that brought me out of my thoughts and gave me the need to know where I was. I felt that someone was with me but wasn't sure who it could be, my mother? Or maybe Lula or Mary Lou was here with me? I tried to open my eyes but found the effort really hard, what on earth had happened to me? I also became aware that I hurt in places I'd never hurt before. My hip and head were telling me that I'd been hurt, but how had that happened? Then I realized I had no recollection of what had happened, had there been an explosion in my apartment when I was asleep? As I started to become more aware of my condition the beeping noise increased, hell I'm in a hospital, I hate hospitals, I need to get out of here as quickly as possible, but first I need to wake up. As the beeping became faster I could feel someone squeezing my hand, and did I feel a hand stroke my cheek? God I hope my mother hadn't let Morelli in here; I couldn't cope with him being around. Maybe if I just went back to sleep he'd go away. The next time I thought I was awake my hand was still being held, but it felt warm and comforting, maybe I needed to really make the effort to wake up. I tried to focus on opening my eyes but stopped when a voice drifted through the fog.

"Babe, I need you to wake up, I know you're hearing me, let me see your beautiful eyes, please Babe"

Ranger, what was he doing here? Hadn't he said in the telephone message that he was going to be away for a while? Was I hearing right, okay I needed to find out if he was with me, or if it was just my wishful thinking making me think he was here?

"Come on Babe, I'm here for you, I want you to see me, to see how important you are to me"

Mmm, I'm important to him? I suppose that we do have a genuine friendship, I worry about him and he's important to me so I suppose I must be as important to him. My eyelids felt heavy and I could see light and color, but everything was a blur and that headache was back again.

"You're doing well Babe, just keep trying, look at me Babe"

Yeah, I wanted to see him, to be sure he was with me, so I slowly lifted my eyelids and there looking back were the most beautiful brown eyes in the most beautiful face.

"Hi"

That felt weird, Ranger held a straw to my lips and I gladly sipped to feel the cool water slide down my throat, that felt good, since when did I like the taste of water?

"You had me worried Babe"

"Why?"

"You've been unconscious for a few days now"

"How did I get here, what happened?"  
"You don't remember?"

I shook my head, at least tried to but winced at the pain it brought on in my head.

"Lay still, you have a few injuries that are going to hurt"

"Why are you here?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"But you told me you were going away for awhile, didn't you have to go?"

"Babe what's the last thing you remember?"

"The night you left your message and going to bed. I lost my job as well, Vinnie was shutting down after the weekend"

Something wasn't right; his face said as much, what was I missing?

"Something's wrong isn't it?"

"Babe, it been over four weeks since then"

"You're saying I'm missing some time?"

He nodded and to be honest seemed disappointed.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how, or what happened. Did I do something stupid?"

"God no Babe, I'm just sorry that you have no memory of what's happened to you"

The door opened at that moment and a young man walked in and picked up the chart at the side of my bed, he didn't look like any of the doctors I'd come across before, he seemed young and acted, I don't know, formal?

"Miss. Plum, I'm so glad to see that you're awake, how are you feeling?"

"Very confused"

"Why's that?"

"I don't remember anything from the past few weeks"

"Don't worry about that, it can happen, just give it time and I'm sure it'll all come back to you"

"You're sure?"

"Sounds like you have post-traumatic amnesia. It can last from a few minutes to several weeks or months, depending on the severity of the brain injury. If you can't remember the events of your incident, you likely never will. That's because your brain didn't store those memories. Just give it time, it'll come back"

"So what else happened to me?"

"Broken shoulder bone, a couple of cracked ribs, hairline fracture to your pelvis and you cracked your head"

I just looked at him, probably with my mouth open. How the hell could I not remember that happening, or what led up to it happening, was I going nuts? I felt the tears slide down from the edge of my eyes down into my hairline. Oh god, I was a mess, I was a disaster, how could this happen to me, why me? Oh no, now I sounded like my mother. My mother, she must be going nuts with all the phone calls.

"Babe why are you getting upset?"

"Because I'm a mess, a disaster. What the hell did I do this time?"

"Nothing, this time it really wasn't your fault"

I had to smile at that, because it usually was. For the first time I actually took a better look at the doctor who was busy filling in paperwork, or maybe listening in, and as my eyes went round the room I realized that this wasn't any hospital I'd been to before.

"Who exactly are you, because you don't look like any doctor I've seen before and where am I?"

"Lieutenant Ruskin MD, and you are on board a naval vessel, ma'am"

"Babe don't worry about that at the moment, we just need for you to get better"

Get better, how could I do that when I was somewhere I didn't know how I got to?

"But how…?"

"Rest for now, and when you're more up to it I'll explain everything to you"

"I'm going to give you some pain killers to help, okay?"

"No, they make me sleepy"

Seems I didn't have a choice; I could feel myself drifting so closed my eyes and let sleep come. I was being held in a gently embrace, my breathing was fast and I could feel that my heart was jumping in my chest, what was happening?

"Shush, you're safe now, I'm here for you. No one is going to hurt you. Babe?"

As I opened my eyes I realized that my face was being held next to Rangers chest and there were tears still falling.

"You had a bad dream"

"I don't remember it, am I going mad?"

"No, it's all part of your brain healing and memories trying to get out"

"I don't know if I want to remember"

"There'll be some good memories in there as well Babe"

"Can I get up?"

"You're going to find it painful to walk, for at least a few days, but how about I carry you up on deck and you can sit up there?"

"You can do that?"

"Yes"

I hadn't noticed that I was wearing very loose shorts and a T-shirt, Ranger wrapped a blanket around me and then lifted me up, yes my pelvis did hurt and now I had moved so did my ribs. I don't think I could have walked on my own anyway, I hated being so dependent on anyone, I felt helpless and to be honest I didn't want Ranger to feel like he had to take care of me.

"Babe, I want to take care of you"

"Out loud?"

He nodded and smiled, okay so some things hadn't changed. It seemed to take forever to navigate the corridors and stairs before we eventually came to a door that led outside. I was astounded at the view, there was just the sea and the sky around us, a beautiful blue, a calm came over me, yes I had needed to come up here. We were on a small deck area that had a few chairs on it, I don't suppose the people on a navy ship had much time to sit and sunbathe.

"This area is the private deck that the higher ranking officers can use"

"They don't mind?"

"No, we're free to use it any time"

He sat down on a chair with me cradled across his lap, his arm around my back to support me; it felt so good to be in his arms again. I looked through the railings and could see the soldiers moving about on a deck much lower down, all wearing their uniforms and looking so smart. Soldiers, I had in my mind a picture of a soldier but in a different uniform. "Stop flirting with them"

Where had that voice come from? For some reason the name Suzie came into my mind and a picture of a girl my age with short blond hair.

"Babe, where did you go?"

"I remembered seeing a soldier, but in a different uniform and Suzie was there with me"

"Describe the uniform"

"He had on khaki colored trousers and shirt with a green beret on his head, he was carrying a machine gun across his front. He was smiling at us, and though he didn't feel like he was a threat I was nervous"

"That's good, see you are remembering things. Who was Suzie?"

"I don't know, but she was with me. Ranger, are you going to tell me what has happened to me and why you're here with me?"

"Well, you know I'd left to go out of the country"

"To save the world?"

"Yeah, Vinnie shut the bond office down so you had nowhere to work. Seems you got a position with a family looking after a little girl"

"I can't remember a little girl"

"Well it seems you all travelled to Cairo"

"Egypt, the museum and the pyramids, we went there, I remember thinking how hard it must have been to move those ginormous stone blocks"

"Did you like visiting those places?"

"I think I did"

"Well from Cairo you ended up travelling to Saudi, then into Iraq"

"Iraq! Isn't it dangerous there?"

"Yes, there are still areas and people that are dangerous. From there you must have travelled through Syria and I found you eventually in Beirut in Lebanon"

"Shit, I travelled to all those places and I can't remember anything about them?"

"You will, Babe there are probably parts that you don't want to remember"

I didn't reply, what could have happened that I didn't want to remember?

A noise behind me had me turning to see a familiar face, Lester. He bent down and kissed me on the cheek, then sat in the chair opposite to us.

"Beautiful am I glad to see you, you had everyone worried"

What do you say to that, I didn't think I'd done anything to make people worry about me, had I? Am I a burden to Ranger, shouldn't he be out saving the world?

"Ranger if you need to get back to what you were doing then just ship me home, I'll be fine"

"We're with you Beautiful, you may have seen someone that's important for us to find"

"Santos"

So that was why he was here, it wasn't about me it was about what was locked in my head. Ranger actually looked annoyed at Lester and Lester? He for once seemed to be

regretting what he'd said. I tried to get up and walk, but that wasn't going to work. I needed to be by myself, to think through what Lester had let slip out. I felt hurt that it wasn't me that was important; it wasn't because of who I was that Ranger was here it was because of something I might know.

"I'd like to go back to my room please"

"Babe it isn . . ."

"Now please Ranger"

I didn't want to hear excuses or explanations, I really needed to be away from him, I couldn't cope with him being so close when I knew there could never be anything between us. Maybe he could find me a different babysitter until my memory came back. By now we'd reached the room that had become mine. I pulled up the single sheet and turned onto my good side and closed my eyes. If he tried to talk to me I think I'd end up crying.

RPOV

Dam Santos and his big mouth, Steph had taken me being here totally wrong, she was totally blocking me out, refusing to even look at me. She was hurting, and I couldn't blame her, hell, if I thought someone was only with me for information I might have, I'd be pissed. I needed for her to understand that wasn't the reason. It had been four days since that stupid statement had been made by Santos and I now had a plan forming in my head. I'd spoken with the Colonel and he had agreed that any Intel from Iraq was cold and that the man we were after could be anywhere, he also implied that Steph was our only viable witness and threatened to have her returned to the States so that a shrink could work with her, of course while being kept under lock and key. No way would that happen, I'd make sure of that. So I'd arranged for the Rangeman helicopter to fly over into the Mediterranean to an island not far away, and be ready to lift us from this ship and return Steph and I to the house I had on the island. I just needed to get Steph onto the helicopter. In the end I'd had to enlist the help of the doctor, who was actually very sympathetic to how badly things had become between us, so in half an hour he was going to tell Steph she needed an MRI and that the nearest one could only be reached by helicopter. I had already left the ship for the house, on the helicopter piloted by a close friend off duty at the moment, and someone who Steph didn't know, so he would pick her up from the ship and bring her to the house. I know she was going to be really annoyed at me, but I had to get her to listen to me, I had to tell her how important she was to me, not just as a friend but as someone I wanted around for the rest of my life. Yes, I was willing to make that commitment to her, I wanted to make that commitment to her, because she meant everything to me, I had finally admitted to my self that I did love her.

I watched as the helicopter landed and the blades slowed down, Kendrick lifted Steph down and began to walk toward the house. I stepped down from the decking and met them at the edge of the grassy area, taking Steph from Kendrick's arms. He saluted me then turned back to the helicopter and we watched as it lifted off and disappeared behind the skyline. Steph tensed when she saw it retreating and I knew the instant she realized that this was a setup. She was annoyed, trying to cross her arms over her chest and failing miserably because of her injuries. She was trying to put on a blank face but was failing due to the tears that had started to fall down her cheeks. I carried her to a lounger on the decking in front of the house and sat down with her back to my front, my arms still around her.

"I'm sorry Babe, but it was the only way I could think of to get you to listen to me"

She didn't say a word.

"Babe, I didn't know where you were, Tank had told me you were missing, but he couldn't find any leads. In the end I followed some Intel about a villa that been blown up and it was then that I realized you might have been there. I followed you to Baghdad and then lost track of you"

She still didn't make any move to respond to me.  
"Babe, I don't care about what's in your head, I'm not interested, as long as you are safe, preferably with me"

"Babe, please believe me when I say it's you, and just you that I need, just you in my life by my side, please"

"How do you expect me to believe you, after all the things you've said to me?"

At least she was listening to me and answering me.

"I know I said things to keep a distance between us, but have I said anything like that recently?"

"What, like telling me to go back to Morelli? Like saying no ring but a condom? Using me like a friend with benefits?"

"I know Babe and at the time I couldn't cope with how you affected me. I couldn't cope with the thought of bringing you into the darkness of my world. Hell these missions I go on I might not come back from, how could I do that to you?"

"But you did do it, you made me part of your world"

"I know, I couldn't stop and I can't stop now. I do love you, without any excuses or buts or ifs"

"I don't know how to feel, I need time to think this through, to trust you"

I sat back pulling her with me and kissed her on the top of her head, hell that hurt, that she had lost her trust in me, I had to make sure she knew how much I loved her. I looked down at her face and traced her cheek with my fingertips; she'd fallen asleep, maybe a good sign that she felt relaxed enough with me. I gently lifted her and took her into the lounge and laid her on the couch, mindful of her shoulder, then set about preparing a meal we could have for dinner. I'd made sure the helicopter had brought in plenty of supplies, including clothes for Steph. I didn't care how long we were here for; she was my priority now. Two hours later I saw her struggling to sit up, so I squatted down beside her.

"Babe, what do you need?"

"Bathroom"

I gently picked her up and took her into the downstairs bathroom standing her in front of the sink. She'd been managing better with standing and walking, just for short times, and her pain seemed to have lessened.

"If you need help then shout of me, I'll be right outside"

I pulled the door too and then waited, the toilet flushed and the taps were used before she slowly made her way out.

"Where would you like to eat, inside or out?"

"Outside, please"

"Put your good arm round my waist and let's see if you can walk that far"

She did and I was so pleased with the progress she was making.

"Proud of you Babe, you're doing really well"

She blushed as she sat down, god she was so cute when she did that.

I'd made a vegetable lasagne as I knew she enjoyed that dish, knowing that she needed to gain some weight there was also a stock of different flavored ice cream in the freezer. She was quiet, which I wasn't used to from her, normally she would chatter just to fill in the silence. It seemed strange and I think she realized it.

"I'm sorry, for some reason I've been used to not talking much, I don't know why though"

"Maybe because everyone spoke a different language?"

"Maybe"

"I thought tomorrow it might be nice to try some swimming, the water's warm and it'll help you get some of your muscles working"

"Sounds good, but I don't have anything to wear"

"All you need is upstairs"

"Can we stay outside for a while?"

"Of course"

Using me as a support we made our way back to the same lounger we'd sat on before, I was surprised at the interest she was taking in the stars.

"I can remember someone telling me how he could use the stars to navigate, and showing me the different constellations"

"Why were you outside at night?"

"We were travelling, on camels I think"

"You sound like you enjoyed it"

"Sometimes, we spent long days travelling and it got really cold at night, we'd sleep round a fire with blankets"

"Who else was with you?"

"I can't remember, but I need know, I feel that I have to remember"

"Why's that"

"Someone who needed me, still needs me"

She lent back as she talked and again I felt her relaxing.

"Babe do you need to go to bed?"

"Yes, I should probably take my pain meds as well"

"I'll take you up and get them for you"

There were two rooms here at the house that were furnished, both on the ground floor, I had plans to convert the rooms upstairs but hadn't had the time or inclination. I usually came here after I'd been on a mission in this part of the world, to decompress, calm myself from being battle ready, and preparing to go back into a civilized world. I carried her into what was the master bedroom and sat her on the bed.

"Bathroom is through that door, clothes are in there and those doors lead out onto a small terrace. I'll go fetch your tablets and some water"

When I returned she had been into the closet and found something to sleep in, I put the bottle and pills on the bedside table and turned to her.

"If you need anything during the night shout out, I'll be next door"

As I turned to leave I heard a soft sob break free from her mouth.  
"Babe what's wrong?"

Kneeling in front of her I could see that she was getting upset, but I wasn't sure why, had I said or done something?

"I want my friend back"

"I'm here"

"I want you next to me, but I also don't"

"Babe I'll stay and when you want to you can tell me to leave, okay?"

I held her face in my hands and kissed her forehead, nose and lips and then retrieved one of my T-shirts from the closet. After helping her dress and get comfortable I slid in next to her, with silk boxers on, and helped her to snuggle up to me. I felt content just holding her, this is where she was meant to be. I watched as she slept, her face was still etched with scratches and bruises, and her hair wasn't as shiny as it usually was, but she was still beautiful to me.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

SPOV

I knew I hadn't slept well; I'd woken during the night to find my self firmly held by Ranger. I knew I'd woken him because each time he had asked me if I was okay, no I wasn't, but there was nothing he could do except to hold on to me. I also knew I'd dreamed memories, but each time when I woke the images had gone only to leave a feeling of sorrow or panic and at times fear. I actually thought that I really didn't want to remember but knew for some reason it was important for me, and I think for someone else, but I didn't know who. Ranger was really trying hard, he was kind and considerate and dare I say loving, but could I trust him not to be using me, not to break my heart? I couldn't let myself fall any further in love with him, could I? As promised he found a swimsuit and a beautiful cotton wrap saying that after breakfast we could try out the water. As I looked in the mirror at my reflection I thought that the way I looked no one could really love me, the bruises on my pelvis and shoulder were changing from a dark blue to that sickly yellow color, and my face wasn't much better. I pulled my hair to the side and looked at the scar on my head, the stitches would dissolve on their own but I felt like Frankenstein with them criss crossing over a long wound. Thank god the doctor had decided against shaving my head. I slowly walked from the bedroom and through the lounge, walking was definitely easier, there were still pangs of pain from my pelvis, but they were getting less frequent. Ranger came from the kitchen and we walked hand in hand from the decking to step onto the sand. I was looking forward to a swim and stopped half way to the water, there was a small breeze closer to the water and the sand swirled against my leg. I know I fell to my knees but it wasn't the sea that I was seeing.

"Babe, look at me, you're safe, and there's no one else here"

I blinked and realized I was curled up on Rangers knee on the lounger, how did I get here?

"What happened?"

"You sank to your knees on the sand, then just went blank. Was it a bad memory?"

Oh god how I didn't want to remember, but I did and I felt so many emotions swirling through me, through tears I knew I had to tell him.

"There'd been a sandstorm and we were under a blanket by a truck, then it went quiet and when the blanket was pulled away there were men all around us and there were some tied up laying in a hole in the sand. Ranger they shoveled sand on them, they buried them alive"

"I'm sorry Querida, I'm sorry you had to see that happen. We found them when we were looking for you, I'm sure at least two people got out alive, but I don't know what happened to them"

"The ones we were with to start with didn't hurt us, some were kind, but the second ones, the men not so much"

"You're here safe and well, we'll work through this together, just promise me if you remember something that makes you afraid talk to me"

"Will you carry me into the water, I don't think I can walk on the sand yet"

"Of course"

The water was warm and I found it relaxing to just float and surprised myself by swimming a little bit, but most of all I enjoyed simply being held afloat in the water by Ranger, it reminded me of the time we'd spent on Hawaii. That felt like an age ago, we'd spent so much time together, I felt we had grown so close, then Morelli had turned up and everything had come tumbling down. I hadn't seen either one of them for weeks after that, Morelli avoided me and Ranger disappeared.

"After Hawaii why did you disappear?"

"I thought I'd lost you, so I came here, I didn't want to see you back with him, then when I'd re centered myself I went back home"

The water lapped around my waist as I turned to face him, looking into his eyes; did I say how I felt? Would that be the right thing to do or would he feel trapped?

"Steph I fell in love with you after the whole incident with Scrogg, I hated that if I died I hadn't told you the truth about how I really felt"

"That night you were shot nearly killed me, I think Morelli realized just how strong my feelings were for you, I knew then I could never be with Morelli, that I didn't love him"

"I love you, Querida, always have and always will, I want our someday together starting now"

"I love you too, I have for a long time, but I was afraid you'd break my heart and to some extent I still am"

"Don't be, I will never leave you"

He brought his lips to mine and with a passion I'd never encountered before he kissed me, our tongues dueled in each others mouths and I felt my heart release all the worry and fear that I'd held onto for so long. I moaned as he changed the angle of his head to mine, his hands supporting my thighs and head. As we came up for air his smile lit up his face.  
"God Babe, I love you, but we need to move apart before I self combust"

I laughed as I felt a very hard erection pressing into my stomach, maybe I could help him out with that?

"No, when we make love it will be together, for both us, so until you're healed I can wait"

So now as I soaked in a tub of hot lavender scented water I tried to work out how long I would have to wait before I could make love. I went through each injury and what the information the doctor had given me had said, my pelvis would start to heal in four to six weeks. The shoulder had been in a sling all week and I had started to go without it, basically if it didn't hurt then carry on doing what I was doing. My ribs still did hurt and I suppose the sling for my shoulder helped with my ribs. I'd done breathing exercises and that caused them to hurt more, so really with all of these injuries I was probably talking about four weeks minimum, and we were already nearly two weeks through that. Shit can I last two weeks? When would we leave here? Where would we go and would that change the dynamic that we were building?

Too much to think about, I carefully sat up and then tried to work out how to get up, I didn't think I could stand up from this position, I didn't have the strength from my shoulder to pull my self up and bending too far forward caused my pelvis to hurt, what the hell was I going to do?

"Ranger"

"What is it?'

He appeared through the door, concern written on his face.

"I can't get out, I know it sounds stupid"  
"Let me lift you by your waist onto your feet"

He gently lifted me until I was standing in the bath, and he wrapped a towel around me, as I lifted my knee over the edge of the bath he moved forward and I accidently caught him in the groin. He grimaced and leaned forward and that's when I went into absolute panic mode. I was in a stone building with a man who was trying to attack me; he was stocky and maybe a bit older than me and had dark greasy hair and a beard and moustache, his teeth were crooked and stained. He had hold of me so I lifted my knee, hard. As he fell I kneed him again in the face. I started to hyperventilate and suddenly there were stars in front of my eyes just before everything went black.

RPOV

At first I thought Steph was upset that she had accidentally kneed me in the groin, and yes it hurt, I was caught unaware, but her reaction was of absolute panic and fear. She was remembering something, and it seemed as though she were remembering being attacked. I struggled to lift her as she fought this unseen attacker, I didn't want her to aggravate the injuries she already had, but even I was struggling with that. Getting her to the bed I laid her down so her uninjured arm was on the mattress then curled my front to her back, pinning her arms to her body and my leg wrapped over hers. Her movements stilled and were taken over with loud racking sobs, her body shaking. Please don't let her remember this, what if she was raped? I couldn't bare the thought of her remembering something like that. I spoke calmly into her ear.

"Babe, you're safe, I'm here with you, talk to me. It's going to be all right"

"It's not all right"

I moved myself over to her other side so that I faced her and caressed her face.

"Tell me what you think won't be all right"

Her eyes looked at me, wide and frightened, what was she afraid of telling me?

"Babe nothing you could have done would make me love you any less"

"I didn't mean for it to happen"

"For what to happen?"

"I killed him"

Now that did surprise me, Steph hated to hurt anyone, but to kill him? No it must have been an accident, she wouldn't kill anyone unless her life was in danger.

"He was attacking you?"

She nodded.

"Babe, would he have hurt you?"

Another nod.

"How did he end up dead?"

"I kneed him and then when he was down I kneed him again"

"Where did you hit him when you kneed him the second time"

"I was aiming for his jaw but he must have dropped his head so I hit the end of his nose"

"Babe you didn't mean to kill him, you probably pushed the bone from his up into his head. Hell it can take a lot of skill to do that and I know you, it was an accident on your part. Babe you were protecting yourself"

She wiped her eyes and looked me in the eye, she was now questioning his death and that was a good thing.

"He wanted to rape me so I fought back, I hated that he died"

"He shouldn't have attacked you, what you did, you did in self defense. I'm proud that you could protect yourself and keep yourself safe"

I kissed her forehead, nose and lips as my hands held her face; yes she was doing better.

"How's the shoulder and ribs?"

"Ache, and my pelvis does as well"

"It seems that different things are triggering your memories, how are you sleeping?"

"I know I'm dreaming but when I wake up they're gone"

"You're exhausted, take some pain killers and have a sleep while I get some food sorted out, do you want to talk to Tank later?"

Her eyes lit up at that suggestion, then clouded, another memory?

"I called him didn't I, to ask him for help. Does he know where I am?"

"Yes, I've kept him up to date, there was no way he was going to stay out of that loop. We also have some leads that he's following up on, I'll fill you in when you've rested, maybe they'll help you to remember"

"You know more don't you?"

"Yes, but before you have a go at me, understand that I wanted you to remember things in your own time, not because I told you"

Shit, I caught myself out on that one, how much do I tell her or would her knowing help her? I put together a light lunch of cheeses and bread, with fruit and went to check on Steph. She still didn't seem to be able to sleep peacefully, her face was frowning and she was restless. I knelt down by the bed; she was beautiful to me, even with all the bruises. I sighed and kissed her face until I saw the blue of her eyes look out at me.

"Come on sleeping beauty, lunch is ready"

I was pleased to see that Steph's appetite was improving, her hair was looking shinier and her eyes were brighter, now to get some weight back onto her. I placed a piece of marble cake in front of her and smiled.

"Why are you trying to get me to eat food like this, usually you say it'll kill me?"

"The doctor said you needed to get some weight back on"

"But I ate when I was away"

"What did you eat?"

"Stews with vegetables, bread and fruit. In fact mister, Sona taught me how to cook and prepare some meals"

She stopped and thought through what she'd said. She'd remembered a person she'd met and could say what she did with them.

"I remembered that, but if you asked me to describe her I can't, the food yes"

The sound of my laptop disturbed us and when I opened it there was Tank calling for a videoconference.

"Where's my Little Girl?"

"She's here, Steph, Tank wants to see you"

Steph walked over and sat next to me, smiling as she looked at the image of Tank on the laptop.  
"Tank, I've missed you"

"I've missed you as well, how you doing?"

"Good, the bones are mending and the bruises are yellow now"  
"Glad to hear, is he looking after you okay?"

"Yeah he is, he's even letting me eat cake"

"Wow, I'll tell Ella to stock some up for you"

"I'm sorry I had to call you Tank"

"Why, you know you can always call me"

"Well I must admit I didn't know who else to trust, I thought Ranger would be out of communication"

"Beirut, that one shocked me, I've not been there in a while. Anyway back to business, everyone is coming up blank"

"What were you looking for?"

Steph looked to me, obvious that she wanted to know what we had.

"Tank, Steph can't remember much, so I'll go over what I know and you can fill in the blanks"

"You okay with that Little Girl?"

"Yes Tank, maybe it'll jog something"

"Tank used a history of your tracker to find out where your new job was, the house was empty and clean, and Silvio chased the owner back to a company called Melangio Holdings, which doesn't exist"

"Little Girl take a look at the photo of the house"

An image appeared on the laptop in front of Tank, it showed a large old mansion, set against ornate gardens, I looked over to Steph and could tell that she was trying to drag something from her memory.

"Steph?"

"It feels familiar, I think I remember thinking it was ugly, but that's it"

"How about this one?"

"Again it feels familiar, and I don't think I felt comfortable there, but I can't remember any details"

"Babe what about the name Burhan?"

"No, I don't remember that name"

I could see the frustration on her face; I think she hoped that this session would somehow unlock what had happened to her.

"Babe, don't worry about it, I think your memories are stimulated by what you experience, like the sand on your legs or you catching me this morning"

"He's right Little Girl, it can't be rushed. When are you heading back Ranger?"

"Not sure, I'll let you know"

I didn't want to think of going back to Trenton, would Steph go back to her apartment, her old life, maybe it was time for me to show how committed I was to a relationship with her.

"Babe I need to talk to my commanding officer, I'm gonna head into the other office, you need anything?"

"No thanks, I'm gonna sit out on the deck"

I wasn't sure what to expect from this conversation with the Colonel, I hoped he had other operatives working this now.

"Colonel"

"Captain, how's our witness?"

"There's some progress, but as you'll appreciate she did sustain serious injuries"

"I want her here for the doctors to work with"

"I'll ask her"

"No, that's an order"

"Colonel she needs time to remember and putting her in a stressful situation like that won't help"

"Captain, I expect you and Miss. Plum here by tomorrow night"

He finished the call, leaving me annoyed and with no other choice than to put my options to Steph. I found her on the lounger, was this becoming our place to relax? I sat behind her, pulling her back to my chest.

"We need to talk"

She tensed, what was she thinking that was so bad?

"Babe, the Colonel wants you in Washington, to have a doctor try to help get your memory back"  
"What does that mean?"

"You'll be under house arrest at best, with daily sessions with a shrink"

"I don't want to do that, what happens if I never remember?"

"I don't know, but I don't like the idea any more than you do"

"Has he given you orders to do it?"

"Yes, but I won't do that to you"

"Then pack me off somewhere and tell him I ran away, then you can report back and not get into trouble"

"No, I'm staying with you"

"But you'll get into trouble"

"I won't leave you"  
"Could you be, you know, disciplined or something?"

"Or something"

Would the Colonel try to Court Martial me? I didn't know, but it was something to find out.

"Ranger I won't have you getting into serious trouble because of me, I'll go to Washington before I let that happen to you"

I rested my forehead against the back of her head, shit I needed to come up with a plan, because no way was I handing her over to anyone.

"Babe, let me think this through and come up with a plan. I'll see if Tank or Santos have any ideas"

"Maybe I can negotiate a better deal with the Colonel after all I'm a civilian?"

"Maybe, but he could call on the Patriot Act"

"We need a way to work this out so that no one gets into trouble"

"Do you know what I was thinking before I called him?"

"No, what?'

I turned her so the she was sat facing me, and kissed her lips softly.

"That wherever we go, I wanted to ask you to live with me"

I'd clearly surprised her, but then as the time passed I felt like a fool. Why did I think that she would want to be with me, let alone live with me? Then she smiled and reciprocated the kiss.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, very sure?"

"I'd like that"

Hell I didn't realize how nervous I'd be asking her that one simple question, but she'd agreed and now I felt more confident in coming up with a plan to avoid the Colonel.

"Go pack a bag while I set things in motion"

While she did that I retrieved my go bag and used a secure phone to call Tank, if I used this phone he'd know there was a problem.

"Ranger, what's wrong?"

"The Colonel wants Steph and I'm not going to oblige him, any ideas?"

"Shit, he gave you an order?"

"Yes"

"Not good then, breaking orders could end in a court martial, what if you deliver her and then we walk out with her?"

"So it looks like I've followed orders and he's screwed up?"

"Yeah, I'm sure we can distract him"

"That could work, but we'll need to know how she'll be transferred to him and maybe how he plans to transport her and where to"

"I'll get that information, you set up a distraction"

"Can you get the helicopter here ASAP?"

"It's already out there, parked up, I'll get it to you now. What you planning?"

"Let me put some things in place then I'll get back to you"

I had a plan in my head but in order for it to work I needed to have control of where we were going to meet him.

"Colonel"

"Glad you see things my way Captain"

"We'll be coming in to Washington tomorrow night, landing at Dulles International"

"Why there?"

"Colonel you wanted us there tomorrow, that's the best I can do"

"I'll meet you at the airport and take charge of Miss. Plum myself"

I threw the phone across the room, what if this didn't work, how could I put Steph through being broken by a shrink? I felt her arms come around me and felt my body instantly calm.

"It'll be okay, we'll get through this"

"God I hope so"

"I'm packed and I heard the helicopter land"

"I'll fill you in on the plan on the way"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

SPOV

It had been a long flight getting back to the states, somehow Ranger had a passport for me, and yeah you guessed, Samantha Pardo, travelling with her husband. I'd changed before we landed in Washington, it didn't seem to matter that we'd travelled first class, the toilets were still like small boxes. I'd slept for some of the flight but I was still on edge and worried, I didn't know if Ranger had slept or not but he looked delectable in his black jeans and black cashmere sweater with the stubble from not shaving. I know I was staring at him and I smiled as he turned to me.

"Yes, I like what I see"

He laughed, because he was going to ask me that question.

"Babe, you look beautiful and very sexy in that outfit"

"Just whose idea was this anyway?"

The look in his eyes told me it was his idea. You see I was wearing a very tight, bright red dress that fell just below being indecent, with a neckline that meant I couldn't wear a bra. It was a good job it had built in support. I mean I knew he wanted people to look at me and notice me, but come on; I could cause a riot in this. I just hoped the makeup I'd used to cover the bruises lasted. As we left the plane and walked down the gangway Ranger caught hold of my hand, we'd agreed not use any PDAs, but he must have known how nervous I was. Once through immigration we put distance between us, I could see Lester ahead of me, and I'm sure Cal, Ram and Hector were somewhere. I almost froze when I saw a stout man in a military uniform talking to Ranger. Ranger played his part well, he looked annoyed and I'm sure said something curt to the man, then walked out of the main entrance. I sashayed toward this Colonel, but not close enough for him to get a good look at my face and gave a finger wave, then pointed to the ladies toilet and walked in. As arranged there was a woman who vaguely looked like me, but it was the matching red dress and shoes that she had on that caught the eye. She passed me a bag and helped me to change into a navy boiler suit, complete with cat boots, a hardhat and name badge. Once I was satisfied that my hair was all under the hat I walked quickly and with a purposeful stride down the concourse and headed to next exit door. The Colonel saw me but didn't look at me; instead he was waiting patiently for the woman in the red dress to come out of the rest room. I hope someone videoed what happened next when he accosted a complete stranger. As I stepped out into the fresh air a black Cayenne rolled to a stop in front of me. Then we were gone, driving through the busy streets heading for home. I turned to Ranger who was sat with me in the back seat.

"That seemed to go well"

"Brilliant distraction Babe, his eyes almost popped out when he saw you in that dress"

"So are you in the clear?"

"Yes, I told him I'd followed his orders to deliver you to him, and Santos was recording it so I have the proof"

"Good, now what?"

"Now we go home"

"But I can't, he'll know where to find me"

"My home, remember the question I asked you before we left?"

Of course I did, and of course I wanted to live with him. I nodded my head, and that's all he needed to see before pulling me into his side. I must have dozed because when I opened my eyes again we were inside the garage at Rangeman, Tank was there waiting for us with a big grin on his face. I reached up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks Tank"

"For what?"

"For helping us both"

I'm almost sure I could see him blush, there was only us in the garage which surprised me.

"Cameras are shut down here and in the elevator, I'll go up with Little Girl then we can switch them back on for your arrival alone"

Ah, now I understood, no one would know I was here, and would think Ranger came home alone. I went with Tank directly up to seven, Rangers apartment seemed so empty, but it felt so good to be here. Here was where I felt safe, where I knew I could come to and not be afraid.

"Deep thoughts Babe"

Shit he scared me.

"Make some noise will you"

"Beautiful I loved the red dress"

"How did the Colonel react?"

"Well he tried to drag her out of the airport, then when her boyfriend shouted for security he was arrested, the look on his face was priceless, I don't think he even realized that it wasn't you"

"So the first plan would have worked?"

"Yes Babe, but it wasn't worth the risk"

"Come on Bomber let me check you over"

"Bobby, when did you sneak in here?"

"Just now, let's check those stitches out"

I sat down on the couch as Bobby sat on the coffee table and tilted my head forward pulling my hair out of the way.

"Wow, that's some fancy stitching, looks good, the stitches are falling away and the skin has healed up well. Any headaches?"

"No, it's the rest that still give me some aches and pains"

"Turn round and let me check the other one"

"What other one?"

"On your shoulder"

I turned and pulled down my top to reveal the back of my shoulder. I didn't realize I'd got hurt there. As Bobby gently pushed down on the skin I found myself seeing myself pushing through a gap in the side of a tent, there was a young girl ahead of me, and then there were gunshots and shouting. I pushed her forward towards some rocks and felt the punch in my shoulder. Then I was hearing a foreign voice and the cool touch of something on my shoulder, the young girl, Mia, was sat with me and the older woman Sona was placing a bandage on where it hurt.

"Babe?"

"Babe, you're here where it's safe, come on Babe, look at me"

My eyes focused on the dark brown eyes that belonged to Ranger.

"I have to find Mia, I can't remember how we got separated"

"We'll find her, tell me what you remembered"

I recounted the night that we had escaped from the camp and that a bullet had hit my shoulder, our walk to the nearest town and that I'd gotten really ill but Sona one of the women who'd been at the camp put some sort of paste on it and helped to get rid of the infection.

"I suppose Bobby touching it triggered the memory, but now I know that I had Mia with me. Was she with me in Beirut?"

"Yes Beautiful, but her father turned up and she went with him"

"Oh, why didn't I go with her?"

"Babe, I don't think her father wanted you left alive. That's when I found you, when a man was trying to hurt you. The ceiling and floors collapsed which is how you got so badly injured"

"Why would her father want me dead?"

"I don't know Babe, another piece of the puzzle to figure out"

"Bomber, are you okay?"

"Yes Bobby, I'm fine, tired but fine"

"Everyone out, we can meet here for breakfast and plan our next move"

"Ranger I'm gonna take a shower"

He looked at me, I know I might struggle but I needed to freshen up before going to bed, it had been a long day. I used the seat in the shower and let the hot water run down over my head, now to see if I could wash my hair, the shoulder and ribs were really achy having sat so long on the plane and then in the car. I didn't hear or see Ranger until he was knelt in front of me. He took the shampoo from my hand and slowly massaged it through my hair, that felt so relaxing and so erotic, shit I was getting turned on with this. When the sponge started at my feet and worked its way up my legs I let out a moan.

"Not fair Ranger"

"Sorry, stand up and I can wash your back. I stood and had to concentrate on keeping still, his touch somewhere between efficient and seductive. I loved the feel as he gently moved the sponge over my skin and the feeling that grew inside of me. He was caring for me, looking after me and that made me love him even more. Before my thoughts had time to roam further a towel was wrapped round me and then another came around my head.

"I'll be out with you in a minute"

In the bedroom I noticed one of his T-shirts and a pair of lacy shorts were on the bed. I lifted the shirt to my face and inhaled the fragrance, Bulgari and Ranger, how I had missed this smell. The shirt was so big it was easy to get on, but I wasn't sure what to do with my hair. Ranger came out already dressed in his satin shorts and sat behind me on the bed. Taking the towel from my hair he smoothed some cream through it then used his fingers to comb it.

"I love your hair, the wildness of the curls"

He was the only who did, Morelli hated it and preferred it when I fastened it back. It was now in a loose plait down my back. I turned to him about to ask a question.

"Babe I lived in a house with three sisters, I know how to plait hair"

"Thank you, for helping and taking care of me"

"De nada Querida"

I curled against him as we slipped under the covers, getting as close as I could, his arm under my head and one over my hip. Yes I felt like I had come home.

RPOV

At 5am I slipped out of bed and dressed for a session in the gym, it was far too long since I'd put any work in there. As I opened the door I looked back at the bed, at my Babe asleep in our bed, yes, our bed, and that sounded right. She was laid on her stomach, an arm holding onto my pillow that I'd put there when I left her. Her curls had come out of the plait and framed her face. She had slept much better last night and looked so peaceful and beautiful. My shirt had risen up her body showing the remnants of the bruises on her ribs, and her skin was slightly tanned from our stay on the island. Warmth flowed through me, the feelings inside of me strengthening my love for her. She was the only woman who had ever made me feel like this and I would do whatever it took to cherish and protect her, I just hoped that she wouldn't fight me on some of the protection I felt she would need. I turned to leave the apartment before I changed my mind and got back into bed with her. There were a lot of men in the gym and most acknowledged me with a nod of the head, I needed to put in at least an hour this morning, maybe more, there were some new faces I didn't recognize but I knew Tank had taken on some new employees. At the end of the session I showered and changed in my office into my Rangeman uniform thinking that at least Steph could sleep a while longer. By 08.30 I decided that it was time to go upstairs so made my way via the stairs. I was surprised to find the door open when I arrived, and went on alert as I heard someone inside the apartment, it wasn't Steph, I was sure of that. Opening the door with my gun drawn I silently crept toward the lounge seeing the black uniform on someone I didn't recognize from where I was standing. What the hell was a Rangeman doing in my apartment?

"What do you think you're doing here?"

He turned, not someone I knew, surprise on his face.

"I, err, I was looking for Ranger"

"Why?"

"I wanted to check with him about my schedule and knew he got back last night"

"Get out and don't you ever come up here again"

He just about ran from the room and slammed the door after him. That seemed like a poor excuse to be here, what the hell was he really doing? I was fuming and I didn't like the excuse he had given me, he was up to something. I got out my phone and sent a text to Hector. "My apartment now, bring scanners" For some reason I felt that he was up to no good. The apartment was quiet so I'd leave Steph asleep until Hector had been in and done his job, the bedroom door was still shut so hopefully she had slept through the intrusion. Hector came straight away using a scanner around the room.

"Jefe, scanner shows bugs"

"How many?"

"Four, lobby, kitchen and two in the lounge. You want me to check the bathroom and bedroom?"

"No, I'll do it"

One bug in the bathroom, but when I entered the bedroom it was empty. Where the hell was Steph? I removed a bug from the bedroom and then went to the office, two more, who would want to bug my apartment? I pulled up the camera footage for the lobby outside of the stairs and lift then fast-forwarded it. At 0800 the man had entered the apartment, coming from the stairs, but there was no sign of Steph leaving. Tank and Santos were in the lounge talking to Hector.

"Ranger who planted the bugs?"

"New guy was in here when I came up, take a look at the video footage in my office, then I want him locked up downstairs"

"Santos, help me find Steph"

"Where did she go?"

"She didn't, she's somewhere here in the apartment"

I know that sounded stupid, I mean where the hell could she hide in here? I took the bedroom leaving Santos with the kitchen and lounge. Not under the bed or behind the drapes, the closet seemed empty, I was beginning to panic that something serious had happened to her, I even considered looking out of the window but decided I couldn't face doing that in case she had fallen.

"Not out here Ranger, are you sure she stayed in the apartment?"

"Yes, check the camera footage from 0500 when I left. Hector you got a infra red camera?"

"Si, but I'll pull up the building sensors, they're more accurate"

He used his Ipad and sure enough we could see the three of us, with some residual heat from the bed. Santos came into the room obviously confused.

"The camera shows that she never left here"

"There Ranger, there's heat coming from the ventilation shaft"

How the hell had she got in there and why had she felt the need to hide so well.

"Where's the access point?"

"For some reason it's in the top corner of the closet"

Opening the closet again I just lifted clothes from the hanger and threw them on the bed, up in the top right corner, above the shelf was the vent.

"Hector are we clear of all bugs?"

"Si"

"Steph!"

I'm sure I could hear something, so I climbed up using the shelving unit then pulled open the vent that led into the shaft.

"Babe, I can't reach you, you need to come back the way you went in"

I heard some noise; then I saw her foot as she reversed from the shaft. Shit, how the hell do I get her down?

"I'm stuck"

If this weren't so serious it would be funny.

"Ranger tell her to go forward, there's another vent out in the hallway, I'll get some steps and open it up"

"Babe, can you move forward?"

"Maybe, I'll try"

I went out in to the hallway where both Tank and Santos were watching Hector who was on the steps with his head and shoulders inside the shaft.

"Estefania, what you doing in there, come on, we get you out"

I took Hectors place on the steps and looked down the shaft seeing curly brown hair slowly moving toward me.

"You're almost there Babe, another foot and I can reach you"

As her shoulders came within reach I moved my right hand until it was underneath her then carefully pulled her toward me, as she got to the entrance she looked at me. Dear god what the hell had happened, there were tear tracks down her cheeks, she was so pale and her body was trembling, I'm not sure if it was because of the effort at moving or because she'd been panicking. I gently lifted her from the vent and passed her down to Santos as I stepped off the steps, then took her back in my arms walking through to the lounge and sitting on the couch. She instinctively curled into me. As I wrapped her in my arms I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. She was safe and she was with me in my arms. How the hell she had managed to get up into the shaft and crawl through it had me staggered, the space was so small, she must have been frightened to death to even attempt that. Not forgetting how panicked she got when she was in enclosed spaces.

"Babe, why were you in there?"

Santos, Tank, Hector and now Bobby were sat in the chairs around us.

"There was a person in the apartment, in the lounge, the door was open a crack and I saw him. He didn't see me though. Ranger it was Aden, and I felt scared, so I had to hide"

"Who's Aden, Babe?"

"He worked for Mia's father, he was the one who first took us into the desert. When I saw his face I remembered him and I knew I had to hide"

"Is it all right if Hector shows you a photo of the man who was here?"

She nodded and looked at the photo that Hector had on his Pad. At her nod I looked at Tank.

"He came to us about two weeks ago, name of Justin Staves, search and references were good. Ranger, he left the building as soon as you found him"

"No he's called Aden, I'm sure"

"Bomber you managed to climb up the shelves and along that shaft; how're your shoulder and ribs?"

"Sore, and my pelvis is too"

"I'll go down and get some painkillers, then you need to rest"

"Hector check out the rest of the building for any bugs, Tank get me every thing on this man, Santos check his room out"

As they left the apartment I gave Steph a kiss to her forehead, nose and a longer one on her lips, teasing her with my tongue and teeth until she responded. When we came up for a breath I rested my forehead against hers.

"Christ Babe, I was so worried when I couldn't find you, I don't know how the hell you got up there let alone managed to crawl into the shaft"

"I just knew I had to hide from him, I was more scared of him than getting up and into the shaft. I started to panic in the shaft, but then I just shut down when those memories came back"

"We need to find out who the hell he is and whether he was trying to spy on me or he wanted to find you"

"Why would he associate you with me?"

"I'm not sure Babe, but a lot of people know you come here when you need somewhere to be safe"

Bobby returned and gave Steph a bottle of water with her tablets, then Tank and Santos returned.

"Justin Staves, ex Seal, came to us three weeks ago. Search came back clear and references checked out. He passed the physical no problem"

"Nothing in his room, only Rangeman uniforms, absolutely nothing personal. Where were we three weeks ago?"

"Steph and I spent a week on the ship and a week at the island, you and I were in Baghdad three weeks ago, Babe?"

"Probably on a camel in the desert"

"Then he didn't put us together while we've been away"

"I didn't see him again after we were attacked and he was left in the sand, hell I've lost track of time, I don't even know how long I've been away for. Oh shit, Rex!"

"Little Girl he's been in the control room with the men ever since you disappeared, he's fine, more than fine"

"My apartment, the rent was due and the bills needed paying"

"Babe, it's been taken of"

"Can I do a deeper search on this guy Tank?"

"You sure can, I missed you being here doing those, you were always the best at them"

"Thanks Tank"

"Hector can you find out what you can about those bugs?"

"Babe maybe later today we can go take a look at the house where you worked?"

"Yeah, maybe I'll remember something"

"Babe use my office up here and I'll be up for lunch"

We all left Steph as she wandered into the office, I really didn't want to leave her, she'd had a scary morning already, yet she seemed to be managing, I'd keep a check on the cameras by the apartment while I worked and take an early lunch.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

SPOV

I needed to do something or else I'd go crazy plus I wasn't happy that Ranger had paid my rent and bills, I needed to work off that debt, though I'm sure I should have enough in the bank to cover it, I never had got round to check out how much Harry had deposited in my account. But most of all I needed to solve the mystery as to who exactly that man was, Justin or Aden, and find out what he wanted. I switched on the computer and settled into the large leather chair, then after logging in went to the search program. On a whim I put in Burhan to see whether or not Mia would be in his information, nothing came up. Not that I expected it to. When I put in the information on Justin Staves I got exactly the same as Tank had but something didn't feel right about it. He'd married young and then divorced just after he left the Seals, strange, I mean as a couple they spent most of their married life apart, maybe they just couldn't live together, or she found someone else. I put in a search for the ex wife, she still lived in the house they'd bought when they got married and she hadn't re married. Newspapers next, I input dates from before he was discharged up to just after the divorce, they'd lived in a small town so maybe something would be seen as a good story. Bingo, the story went to print after he came home, just about the whole town had turned out to welcome him home and how everyone was commenting on what a war hero he was, but the photo of the happy couple wasn't showing the same man who'd been here. He wasn't Justin Staves. But now my curiosity got the better of me, what had happened to Justin Staves? Why was there no record of him since his divorce? I checked back at the search on the wife and read that her sister had come to live with her, a sister called Justeena. And guess what, Justeena had records that only existed since she moved in with her sister. Justin was now a woman; living as a woman with his wife as a transsexual. Now that I had solved that little mystery I needed to find out who Aden was. Usually when a person takes on the identity of another they know them or know of them and Aden had acted like one of the Merry Men when he'd been around me, so maybe he'd been in the Seals with Justin and knew his history. I needed to find a photo with Justin Staves in the Seals with his unit or friends. I jumped as hands rested on my shoulders, I'd been so engrossed in the search I hadn't heard or felt Ranger come in.

"Sorry Babe, I didn't mean to make you jump, you look like you've been busy"

"That man wasn't Justin Staves, Justin had a sex change and is now Justeena"

"Tank won't be pleased he messed up"

"It took some finding, but I could really do with a photo of the old Justin with his unit or friends"

"You think the man, Aden, knew Justin?"

"Yes"

"I'll see what I can do"

"Good, now it must be lunchtime, I'm starved"

My stomach gave out a rumble just to prove my point. We sat in the kitchen, side by side, and ate the sandwiches Ranger had brought up from the break room.

"Does Ella know I'm here?"  
"Yes, so don't worry she'll probably make you something special for dinner"

"Good, who else knows I'm here?'

"Tank, Santos, Hector, Ram and Cal. We'll need to be careful so no one else sees you"

"Ranger I haven't spoken with my mother for nearly five weeks she's going to be so mad at me"

"Why don't you call her and tell her the company you got the job with asked you to go to Europe for training?"

"I can do that"

Ranger handed me a phone and went into the office leaving me to do this alone.

"Plum residence"

"Hi Mum"

"Stephanie Plum where are you, I haven't heard from you in weeks, would it hurt to give me a call?"

"Sorry, I had to go to Europe for training with my new job and my phone didn't work there"

"When are you coming home, everyone thinks you ran away and poor Joseph is beside himself worrying about you"

"I told you I'm not with him so there's no reason for him to try and keep tabs on me"

"Don't be stupid Stephanie, he's your last chance for a husband"

"Well maybe I met someone else?"

"Don't be ridiculous Stephanie, as soon as you're home we can start to plan the wedding"

"Then I won't be coming home"

I hit the button to end the call, why would she push me to marry Morelli when I didn't want to? But then she'd done the same to me with Dickie, I didn't understand how she could just ignore what I wanted or needed to be happy. I felt Ranger beside me and passed the phone back to him.

"She doesn't change, but at least I made the effort"

"She probably worries about you"

"No she doesn't"

All she worried about was what the neighbors would be thinking, and what was it with her constantly pushing me to Morelli?

He stood up and handed me a bag that had been left by the door, intrigued I opened it and took out the contents. A blond wig with shoulder length straight hair and a large pair of sunglasses, but they weren't as dark as normal sunglasses.

"They should make your eyes seem to be more of a brown. Go put on your Rangeman uniform, fully dressed please, and we'll see what you look like"

I took the bag and went into the bedroom; there on the bed was a Rangeman uniform complete with a full utility belt. Once changed I piled my hair on top of my head, pulled on the wig and looked in the mirror, the glasses certainly took away the color of my eyes. Did I look like me? Probably not, with the utility belt and jacket I looked like a kick ass Rangewoman.

"Looks good Babe"

Ranger had come behind me and now had his arms circling my waist; I looked at him through the reflection in the mirror. He pulled a chain from his pocket and looped it around my neck, fastening it, hung between my breasts was a beautiful gold locket. I opened it and saw inside a photo of the two of us, where had this come from? I recognized that we were inside the lift with Ranger behind me and me looking up at him. Dam it was a photo that had us both looking into each others eyes and the look on our faces was far more than friends, I had to blink back the tears as I held it.

"Babe, it's also a panic button, so if you need me I can find you. I was so worried this morning when I couldn't find you"

"I didn't mean to worry you, and this is so special, thank you for the photo and for you thinking about me"

I returned to look at him again. He was dressed in a similar uniform to me and he was mine, all mine.

"Yes, and you are all mine"

I turned in his arms to face him, god I loved him so much, I felt so in synch with him, so

complete. I kissed him with as much love and feeling as I could: I wanted him to know how I felt. The kiss deepened as we both moved our bodies to be closer together, tingles flew down my skin warming places that had been dormant for so long. When I could feel his erection pressing into me I pulled back.

"I'm sorry"

"What for?"  
"Taking that further than I should"

"Babe I can get hard just looking at you, or thinking about you"

"I love you Ranger"

"I love you too"

As we left the apartment and headed down in the lift to the garage I noticed that Ranger was using his key fob.

"Blocks the cameras"

Of course, I should have known, I wonder what the Merry Men will think if they saw Ranger with a blond woman?

Of course he took the Turbo, he knew how much I loved this car, the sound and the feel of the engine. It took about 40 minutes to reach the house; I remembered this, turning in through the gates and being daunted by the look of the house, as it seemed to look down on me. I know it was worth a small fortune but I still didn't like it, the greyness seemed to be oppressive. We stopped in front of the main door and Ranger opened my door and helped me out, keeping a firm grip of my hand, after he opened the door to the house, yeah he picked the lock and de activated the alarm, we walked into the hallway. I stepped through the door into the room where I had come to on my first visit. It was absolutely empty, no furniture or pictures. I think I could remember the style of furniture but no details.

"There was a portrait here and for some reason it bothered me, but I don't know why. Goddammit, I can't remember the father, I only have impressions"

"Babe, you'll remember when you're ready"

"Let's go upstairs"

I knew where all the rooms were, and could again get impressions of what furniture had been here, but I couldn't see the details. I couldn't picture Mia's face or her fathers, yet I could tell you the routine of our days and what she'd learnt in her lessons, even the flavor of her favorite ice cream.

"Nothing important, just things that we did and talked about, routines in the day, but I can't see their faces. It's almost like I have to see them to remember them"

I felt so let down, that I had let Ranger down, I know that the mission he'd been on was important and for some reason I was the key to opening or closing the whole thing. We returned to the car and was surprised when we turned in the opposite direction to home, home I liked the sound of that. We stopped in the car park of a quaint looking restaurant with tables spaced out in a garden at the back. As we got out of the car Ranger undid my utility belt and pulled my shirt from my trousers.

"Don't want to scare people"

We walked through the main section of the restaurant to be greeted by a woman in black who showed us to a small table outside in the garden our table was hidden within the branches of a flowering shrub. The smell it gave off was sweet, almost like perfume.

"Jasmine, its smell is stronger at night"

"It's lovely, the whole place is lovely"

"I thought you'd like it and that it would be good to get out"

"Thank you"

"For what?"

"Always knowing what I need"

"Always"

The food was amazing and for the first time I ate everything in front of me, including dessert. We talked, really talked, about our lives so far, my college days and the job I'd had at E E Martin. Ranger contributed with his experience of college and joining the army. When we got onto the subject of family I froze.

"Babe, what's wrong?"

"My mother, I know I spoke to her but will she know I'm back in Trenton?"

"No, you didn't tell her so she won't know"

"Good because I told her I wouldn't be coming home"

"Why would you say that to her?"

"She's trying to get me married off to Morelli"

"Then we need to keep a low profile for the time being"

"I know, and I will, I promise. I need to use the bathroom, do you know where it is?"

He pointed to a door at the side of the building and stood up with me.

"I'll meet you by that door that goes inside"

I walked with a smile on my face into the ladies toilet area. It was very clean and had the smell of Jasmine from some cut branches on the vanity unit. Once I'd finished I opened the door to go back out into the garden, and froze; sat at a table several feet away was a face I recognized. I hit the panic button and stepped back into the room, trying desperately not to let the images in my head take me over. I felt arms go around me but I knew it wasn't Ranger, and I stiffened thinking the worst.

"Beautiful, it's me Lester. Ranger didn't want to attract attention in case who ever you saw knows him as well. Here put this coat on, remember you're in disguise, so just act naturally and we'll walk straight out of here"

I took the coat he handed me and put it on, checking myself in the mirror it was a long beige coat going down to my calves and helped to cover up my Rangeman uniform, once the glasses were on I was ready to go and turning to Lester I took in a deep breath.

"Okay I'm ready"

He had his arm around my shoulder so I looped my arm around his waist; he lent toward me and whispered in my ear.

"You're doing great Beautiful, Rangers out by the car waiting for you"

We walked through the inside restaurant and out through the front door, I recognized the Bentley and that there were two men inside. Fortunately they didn't take any notice of us. The car door of a Cayenne opened and I climbed into the back, now the shaking began, dam I really needed to know how to control an adrenaline rush. Arms came around me and I could hear Ranger talking to me, but for the life of me I didn't hear what he said. The next thing I was aware of was being carried and being in the lift.

"I can walk"

"I know, but I like to carry you. You up for telling us what happened at the restaurant?"

"Yes"

I know, not a helpful answer but I didn't want to be telling this memory more than once. Once inside the apartment I took off my shoes and coat, then the glasses and wig and went to sit on the couch, Ranger sat next to me and pulled me onto his lap.

"You feeling okay?"

"Yep"

"Smartass"

Tank, Lester and Ram came in to the apartment and took seats around us, all of them just looking at me.

"Mia's father was at the restaurant and the Bentley parked outside had two of his goons inside, I'm sorry, I should have told you straight away, but I panicked"

Ranger took out his phone.

"Hal have you got your camera on?"

"Yes sir"

"Scan the people in the garden area and stop when Steph tells you to"

I watched the image on Rangers phone as it showed the people sat at their tables eating and drinking.

"Stop, that's him"

There on the screen was the man who had employed me, taken me out of the country and gave the order to kill me. His skin looked darker in the dim light but you could still see the poor condition his skin was in, I could remember his dark brown eyes and that he was slightly taller than me. He was wearing an expensive looking light grey suit and white shirt. Each man took a good look at him; did I want to remember him? Not really, I actually found him more threatening than I had before. Who was he and what was he doing, and where was Mia?

"Babe?"

"I remember meeting him at the house, I got a weird vibe from him, but he was offering me a job, so I pushed it to one side. Once I started working I didn't see him, he wasn't at the house; that I know of. It wasn't until that day we went to Washington that he showed up again and then when I thought we were going home I ended up in Cairo. My last memory of him is in a derelict building and him telling Mia to go with him, then it's a blank after that"

"Tank get a team on him, but be careful, he obviously has bodyguards and will be on guard for anyone following him. Santos see if you can follow up with the restaurant, if he booked and left a number. Ram, the car"

As they were each given their orders they left the apartment, I suppose there would be a meeting in the morning to get reports. I got up and went into the bathroom, I needed to shower and I needed to think. My shoulder was feeling better and I could wash my hair, as I finished rinsing I could feel the tears welling up behind my eyes. Why was I feeling so emotional? I sat down on the floor of the shower, the water pouring down from my head, mixing in with the tears now flowing freely. I was a mess and I didn't like it, I needed to get my life back, my memories back and find out why I'd had to spend those weeks in the middle of war torn countries. The water suddenly stopped and there stood Ranger with a towel for me. What must he think of me?

"Babe you need to talk to me, tell me what's got you so upset"

He took me into the bedroom and dried me off, pulling one of his T-shirts over my head; then he pulled back the covers for me to get into bed. I was laid on my side and saw him slide in under the sheet. We were face to face, his hands on either side of my face.

"Talk"

"I feel like I'm losing it, I keep going from feeling really down to angry, then happy again. I want to know why I spent weeks in the desert and why people want me dead and for some reason I need to find Mia"

"Babe you have kidnappedtwice, you've been hurt and had to fight for your life, without any help. Then you got really badly injured and ended up with memory loss, you're due a breakdown and wouldn't be normal if you didn't feel like you do"

"Will it go away? Will the dreams stop?"

"Yes, but it takes time, you don't have to be strong all the time and no one expects you to be. Have you ever broken down and cried like this before now?"

"No"

"Then I'd say it was overdue"

"You don't think I'm being stupid?"

"No, I love you very much Stephanie Michelle, and I'd be more worried if you were acting all brave and macho, that's my job"

I snuggled up to him, feeling so much better, so loved and cared for; he seemed to understand how I felt. I had my arms around him as I lay on his shoulder with his arm as a pillow, a leg over his. Yes this was where I belonged.  
"How many more weeks do we have to wait?"

"I don't care, I need you now, I need you to wipe away these feelings I have"

"Are you sure, I don't want to hurt you"

I moved so that I could feel his body next to mine, his skin next to me, yes I wanted this, to hell with the injuries. My lips went to his as I lay on him, my hands tangled in his hair as I held him. He deepened the kiss and I moved to straddle his hips, I could feel myself getting more and more turned on as our tongues dueled, exploring each other. His hands were setting my skin on fire and I could feel the need for him grow deep inside of me, he sat up taking me with him and lifted me as he knelt, yes that was more comfortable and any aches I felt diminished, his hands somehow removed my T-shirt and his mouth moved to my breasts, sucking and licking until my nipples were hard and aching, shooting waves of pleasure through me. He then moved his hand up my thigh caressing the skin on his way toward my groin. I pulled his silk boxers down and felt his erection spring free, oh yes, I could feel his fingers caressing me, and I was so close, I needed him inside me. As I caressed his erection he plunged a finger, then two and moved them in and out of me in time with how I was rubbing my hands on him. He lifted my hips and very slowly, in one move he was inside me, lifting my hips to then slowly set me down again. The feeling was euphoric every inch of me coiled tight as the feeling of him moving inside of me sent pulses through me, oh how I loved this man with everything I had. I moved my hands to feel his skin, to massage and nip his nipples, moaning at the intensity, writhing my hips against him to increase the feel of him, to feel him as his length entered me, whimpering at the loss when he pulled out only to moan when he moved back in, it felt that he was touching my heart, touching my soul and I was connecting with him in a way I had never experienced before. As the tempo increased his mouth came back to mine, hard and hungry, a hand rubbed against my folds and my orgasm hit me like a train, screaming into his mouth and feeling him spasm inside of me, my muscles clenching against him, I threw my head back as the orgasm continued, my whole body feeling the after shocks. As my breathing calmed he held me to him, his face in my curls by my cheek.

"I love you Stephanie, more than you will ever know, and this just reconfirms how I feel"

"That was more than sex wasn't it?"

"Yes that was you and I, our souls joining and touching"

"I love you Carlos Ricardo Manoso"

My head dropped to his chest as he lay back down, we didn't need any more words I felt happy and content and with that feeling I slowly drifted into a peaceful sleep.

RPOV

Last night, making love to my Babe had been an experience I had never had before, I felt a connection to her; for her and my love for her was almost an ache inside my chest. I was worried about her and how she was coping with everything that had happened to her. How I wish I could go back in time so that nothing would hurt her. Steph had been restless for a while now, I didn't know whether to wake her or not, that decision was made for me when she started talking in her sleep and let out a piercing scream. I already had my arms around her as she lay across my chest, but her sudden movement had her scampering to the other side of the bed, and now she was quiet. I moved across to her and pulled her back to my front, waiting, I wasn't sure what to expect, when she calmly spoke out I have to admit I was surprised.

"I dreamt of being in Beirut, phoning Tank and then Mia and I went down the street to a café to get something to eat. I don't why but my spidey sense was going nuts so we left through the back entrance. Two men started to follow us, I made a stupid mistake and went into this building, but they followed us. I saw Mia's father and he was talking to her, when they left the man he called Bruce had a gun and shot at me, so I ran, then when he caught up to me I struggled with him and then the floor seemed to disappear from under me and I was falling"

"That's when I found you, Tank let me know where you were staying and a boy at the hostel said you'd gone down to the café for some food, I was on the floor above when the ceilings collapsed"

"I don't feel panicked with that memory, in fact I feel relieved that I can remember it, what happened to Bruce?"

"The fall killed him"

"So I was lucky then"

How did I answer that? Yes she was lucky to be alive or no, she should never have been hurt in the first place? I wasn't going to get into that debate.

"You're here now, safe and well, that's what's important"

She turned around to face me, placing her lips on mine.

"I'm sorry I woke you"

"Babe there's nothing to be sorry for"

I deepened the kiss, she tasted so sweet and my desire for her went through my body, we'd get through this and then we could focus on us, maybe we could go away somewhere together, even back to the island. She broke the kiss, sighing as she broke contact, and then with her head on my chest relaxed as she slowly went back to sleep. Having her lay across me gave me a feeling of absolute contentment I'd never before experienced. In the past for me to sleep with a woman meant two hours at the most in the same bed. With Steph I could spend forever with her like this.

The alarm went at 0500 and after switching it off I actually considered just staying here in bed. No, I needed to move so that I could put in time at the gym, so reluctantly I slid from the bed and changed into my gear. A quick check on Steph showed her sleeping peacefully so I decided she would be all right on her own. After my routine I used the shower and changing rooms there, it was fairly quiet so I was surprised when I overheard a conversation going on outside of the shower.

"Isn't Stephanie around anymore?"

"What do you mean?"

Santos had obviously just come in and was that Vince he was talking to?

"Well she 's not been here for weeks"

"Maybe she's busy with work"

"I saw that Vinnie closed, so what's she up to?"

"Heard she got herself another job"

"So it would all right if I called to see how she was doing?"

I could almost hear the wheels in Santos's head turn as he was trying to work out where this conversation was going.

"No good asking me"

"Well the boss has a new woman now"

"What?"

"Blond piece he's sneaking in upstairs"

"Not you business Vince"

"Just asking"

"You on monitors today?"

"Shit yeah, I've gotta get going"

Interesting that Steph had been seen when she was in her disguise, I wonder how that rumor got started?

"Ranger you can come out now"

I stepped out of the cubicle to Santos who was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Since when did my men fancy Steph?"

"Since she first came here. Maybe our meeting needs to be on seven, because I'm sure Steph will want to be involved in it"

"Good point, can you let the others know?"

"Yeah, 0800?"

"Breakfast"

I went to my office for an hour to sort out which bi annual reviews needed to be done then by 0745 was stood in the doorway to the bedroom amazed that Steph was up, showered and getting dressed.

"What?"

"I'm surprised you're up and ready"

"Lester sent a text that the meeting was here at 8, breakfast included"

I walked up to her and holding her hands behind her back and brought her body close to mine.

"You look better this morning"

"I feel better, thanks for picking me back up, I needed that help"

"Anytime, you ready to meet the others?"

She nodded and we walked hand in hand into the kitchen, Tank, Lester, Ram and Cal were already loading their plates and walking into the dining area. We joined them and ate in silence until all the plates were clean.

"Little Girl, you okay after last night?"

Steph looked at me, I think she was worried I'd mentioned to him about her nightmare.

"At the restaurant Babe"

"Oh, yeah, it was just a shock to see him, but it kick started my brain"

"Okay let's get down to the reports, Santos"

"The restaurant had him as a walk in, never been in before, he paid with cash, so no lead there"

"Ram, the car?"

"According to the records the car doesn't exist, false plates. It's a brand new car though so I've set up a search to find purchases of that model in the black, with leather upholstery, for the last three months"

"Ram did you get anywhere finding a photo of Justin Staves with men from his unit?"

"Yes, came in this morning, I'll show it to Steph after the meeting, there's a message to go with it giving names of men in the picture"

"Tank?"

"First off, I'm really sorry about that man I took on, everything looked clean"

"Tank, you couldn't have known, it took me ages to dig up that he wasn't who he said he was"

"Okay then, I've got three teams in rotation on that man from the restaurant, but he's clever, and he did his best to try and lose them. Followed him to a house south of here near a place called Pemberton, off route 206. It's a big place, on a big site and with big walls; it has full security including cameras, motion detectors, dogs and guards. Still following up who owns it"

"All right actions then, Ram can you work with Steph on the picture. Tank . . ."

"Is it possible to get a fingerprint from him?"

I looked at Steph wondering where the hell she was coming from, but then I realized we only knew him by Burhan because that's what he'd told her"

"Where are you going with this Babe?"

"His name may not be Burhan, it could be an alias, and I tried a search on him yesterday and he doesn't seem to exist, nor does Mia. So if we could get something with his prints on maybe we could find out who he is. Did we dust for prints in Justin whatever his name is room, because I'm sure he's ex Seal or Army and his prints would be on file?"

"Whoa, slow down Beautiful, I'll go down myself to the apartment on four, but how do you suggest we get Burhan's?"

"If he goes to a restaurant we just need the glass he had a drink from"

Sometimes her mind amazed me with how she looked at a problem, it was so simple, yet absolutely logical.

"Babe, you're right, Tank ask the teams to be prepared to lift something he picks up. We have another problem"

Everyone including Steph turned and looked at me, all right I was going to be saying this with a straight face, but a smile inside.

"Apparently I have a new woman, a blond one, one I've brought here"

Santos laughed but Steph looked worried and Tank and Ram, well they just seemed surprised. I could see as each of them realized that it was Steph wearing a blond wig, and then there was confusion, followed by annoyance.

"How, when you've scrambled the cameras?"

"Not sure, but it's a rumor that's doing the rounds with the men"

Steph smiled, I'm sure she was conjuring up something.

"Well, that could play to our advantage, I mean at least if that Colonel of yours, or anyone else for that matter, comes looking they'll see you with a blond and not me, Stephanie Plum"

"Babe, how far do you want to take that?"

"I don't know, how good is the disguise?"

I looked at the men sat around me, I knew Steph too well, and it wasn't just her looks that made her who she was. It was the way she walked and her facial expressions, the way she laughed and talked, but most of all it was her eyes that were the windows to her soul. I was surprised when Ram stood up and knelt in front of her.

"If you apply makeup properly you can change the shape of your face and choose a different style to dress in. I think you could get away with the physical looks, but you'd have to work on your walk and carriage, but it's your eyes that give you away"

"Ram what do you know about all that?"

"My sister works at one of the theatres in New York, she's a whizz with makeup"

"Ram you're with Steph, we'll meet again this evening unless something comes up"

I left leaving Steph with Ram, I wasn't sure how well she knew him but I was sure that by the end of the morning she'd probably know him better than I did, something else she had about her, that unexplainable way of connecting with people, regardless of who they were. By the time I had finished going over the reviews I'd had enough of paperwork, surely there was an easier way to do this? I wanted a break so decided to see how Ram and Steph were getting on. When I entered the apartment I had to take a second look, the woman by the door to the kitchen did not look at all like Steph. Yes she was wearing the blond wig I'd got for her, but her face, it looked rounder and softer with thinner lips and a longer nose. The eyes, whilst the same shape, seemed smaller, less a part of her features and they were brown. At that moment Ram walked toward her carrying a long brown leather coat, brown knee high boots and a trilby hat. I watched as she put them on, hell she looked so different that I was mourning the loss of my Babe. She turned and saw me, smiling her smile.

"What do you think?"

"Amazing"

"Ram is a genius, he's shown me how to do all this myself, because to be honest I don't want to be dressed up all the time"

"I agree, how far did you get with the photo?"

"I'll leave you two with that one, Steph knows what I know"

As Ram left the apartment we walked toward the kitchen where Ella had left a domed dish for us for lunch.

"His name is Aden, Aden Tanner. He was in the Seals with Justin, then when he left he worked for a mercenary outfit, now he seems to be freelancing"

"So all we need to do is find him, any ideas Babe?"

"Not off the top of my head, but I'll think about it, like I would have done a skip"

She was happily biting into her sandwich when I sprung my next question at her.

"Do you miss it?"

"Miss what?"

"Being a bounty hunter?"

"I haven't really thought about it, I suppose I miss the chase but not so much the capture"

Yes, she was good at finding people, at solving puzzles but had never really taken the actual physical aspect of a capture seriously.

"What would you like to do?"

She looked at me, started to talk then stopped, was she avoiding answering me or did she really not know.

"First off, I've never had the option of choosing a job because I wanted to do it, I had to take what ever came up. And second I cannot have a serious discussion dressed like this"

I finished eating and took both our plates over to the dishwasher, I looked back at her, she was thinking, I hoped I hadn't given her a reason to worry.

"I'll need to look for another job when this is all finished won't I?"

Dam, I had set her off worrying, as far as I was concerned she need never work again, I had enough money to last us several lifetimes, but that wouldn't be her, she needed to be doing something, to try to keep some independence.

"Why?"

"Because, that's me, I owe you money already for what you've paid out for my apartment. Shit my apartment!"

"Babe do you remember what I asked you?"

She nodded.

"I don't care where we live, as long as it's together"

"What happens when you get fed up of me?"

"Is that what's worrying you?"

She nodded.

"Not going to happen, though there is this blond I fancy"

She hit me on the arm, probably hurting herself more than me.

"When I got divorced from Dickie he threw me out of the house, everything was in his name and in the end I was left destitute. The apartment is the only thing that is mine"

"Then we'll buy a house together, or I'll just put it in your name"

"This is serious stuff you're talking about"

"I'm being serious"

I could tell she still wasn't sure, she was still being so guarded, I'd put that right soon, now was not the time.

"Seeing as you're all dressed up why don't we go out and I can show you off?"

"Sounds like a plan Batman"

"Why don't you rest and then we can go out for an early dinner"

Instantly the mood lightened, now we had to decide where to go, somewhere that was safe but made the statement that I had another woman.

"Pinos?"

"Are you serious, all the cops will be there and Morelli?"

"Good as anywhere to test out your disguise, just don't talk to them, play the dumb blond"

So that's where we were heading for, an early dinner and a way to test out the water for anyone watching me. Steph was nervous, I could tell from how quiet she'd gone and by her stillness. We had a team shadowing us with one man at the back and one at the front of the restaurant. I had an ear bud in and would quickly know who was around or following us, Steph had her panic button and trackers on various articles of clothing, hell if I could I'd have an RFID chip implanted in her skin. I parked the car and turned to her.

"You ready"

She nodded then turned to me, a serious expression on her face.

"What name are you going to call me?"

"What name do you want me to use?"

"Jasmine, that's a bimbos name"

I got out the car and opened the door, holding her hand to help her; she was still having problems with her shoulder and ribs especially getting out of this car, but wouldn't admit to it. I could feel eyes on me as I linked my arm over her shoulder; yeah there was definitely interest in my new woman. Chat was coming in over my ear bud, we'd had a tail from Rangeman to here, and a second car was parked out back with two passengers inside, why was there so much interest in me? Or was it because they thought Steph would be with me? I just hoped that no one recognized her, or if they did, they kept it to themselves. The back table was free so I maneuvered so that Steph went onto the bench first then slid in next to her. She leaned in close to my ear, nibbling on it as she spoke, the things she could do to me were unnerving, especially when I needed to be focused on what was going on around me.

"Do you think there might be bugs?"

I hadn't thought of that, but she had a point, so I nodded and then returned her amorous advances by kissing her from her ear to her lips. Maybe her being so amorous was her way of keeping her face concealed, who was I to argue, I was enjoying it.

"Jasmine what would you like to eat and drink?"

I saw a pained look cross her face; she wanted the meatball subs but knew choosing that dish would give her away. Eventually she pointed to Penne Al Pollo Della Casa, seasoned chicken breast, mushrooms and pasta baked in a creamy mushroom and white wine sauce. Not her usual but something she would like. I ordered my usual salad and two waters then sat back and looked around the restaurant, there were some police in but non we knew and locals, but the one who stood out was a man sat on his own at a table, he actually looked uncomfortable, and was struggling with how to keep an eye on us and look natural. I took out my phone, pretending to read it and took a photo of him. As our food arrived two cops I really didn't want to see came in through the door, Carl and Eddie. They both saw me and then looked again when they saw the blond sat next to me, I wasn't sure if Eddie had recognized Steph or not. They wondered over and in turn extended a hand, Eddie took his time as we shook hands looking again at Steph.

"Been awhile Ranger"

"Busy at the other offices"

"Everything okay?"

"Fine, thanks"

"Well I'll leave the two of you to your meal, I think Morelli's on his way here"

The message didn't go unnoticed, but give Steph her due she didn't give any reaction, just continued to eat, at least she was quiet while eating; that would really have given her away. As they went to the bar sure enough Morelli came in, I knew he was on his way, the team out front had warned me. He sauntered over to the bar and spoke with Carl and then turned and looked at me, he seemed pissed off. His brows were creased and his color was verging on becoming red, it was time for us to leave.

"Jasmine you finished?"

Steph looked up at me and smiled, then brought her lips to my ear.

"Yes, that was delicious, but we need to go. Morelli looks like he's about to blow, so if he does it's probably better if it happens outside"

I put enough money on the table to cover the meal and as I stood I brought Steph up with me, an arm around her waist keeping her tight to me and with one of her arms around my waist and the other across my chest it allowed her to keep her face covered. As expected Morelli followed us out, and tried to grab hold of my arm around Steph, instead he pulled on her arm. As she let out a gasp I pulled her tight to me, and nodded at Santos who came and stood by Steph's side.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Morelli?"

"Well you sure moved on fast, what the hell did you do with Steph?"

"I haven't seen her, I heard she got a new job out of town"

"Yeah, like I'd believe that"

"I've moved on as well, as you can see"

"A blond bimbo isn't your usual style, where the hell is Steph?"

"Why do you think I would know?"

"Because she only gets into trouble when she's around you"

"Trouble, what trouble?"

"How about a warrant for her arrest, put out by just about every alphabet agency in the country and a contract out on her"

"I'm not aware of that"

"Well you are now, the information came in about thirty minutes ago"

"What's the warrant for?"

"Treason"

"Who set up the contract?"

"Don't know, but if I did why should I tell you?"

I didn't need to pretend to show surprise, I was surprised, shit who had issued that warrant and the contract? I turned and opening the car door helped Steph inside and then turned to Morelli.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, and I don't know where Steph is"

Then I got into the drivers side and peeled out of the parking space, as Steph made to speak I touched her lips with my finger, to quieten her. We pulled into the Rangeman garage to see Hector waiting for us, I knew we'd picked up some bugs while inside the restaurant, Santos had watched a man do it, but I wanted to leave it there to add to my alibi that Steph wasn't around here.

"Jasmine, you ready?"

Santos opened the car door for her and helped her out as I walked around the car, we took the lift up and got out on five, it was time for my men to meet Jasmine.

"This is going to be a challenge"

She smiled as she said it then linked her arm through mine, she knew I wasn't into PDA in front of the men, but why not let her have her fun. The men went quiet as we exited the lift, all of them staring at the blond next to me but none of them said a word, instead I could almost feel their disdain aimed at me. I knew immediately when she saw Rex sat on Hal's shoulder.

"Is that a rat, yack, who would want a rat?"

Hal turned and looked at her, obviously not impressed.

"He's not a rat he's a hamster and he is a very intelligent and sensitive hamster so if you don't mind, don't upset him"

I wanted to laugh but didn't, instead I walked Steph back to the lift, I stopped it on six where Hector was waiting to remove any bugs we'd picked up, once we were clean I hit the seven button and Steph burst out laughing.

"Well they certainly didn't recognize me, Hal was more concerned for Rex"

"A good result then, now all I have to worry about is that my men will think I've deserted you for a blond bimbo"

"Am I okay to change into me?"

"Please, I want to see you, so hurry we need to find out about that warrant and who were following and bugging us"

I breathed out a sigh of relief when I saw my Babe stood in front of me.

"I missed you, your eyes, your laugh and how you moan when you eat"

"Do you think it worked?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure about Eddie"

Santos, Tank, Ram and Hector arrived at the door; we needed to get the answers to some questions.

"That seemed to go well Beautiful, you fooled everyone"

"Yeah but why the warrant and who put it in motion?"

"Could the Colonel be behind it?"

"You need to call him Ranger and ask him, and tell him to pull his goons off"

"You think that some who were following Ranger were from the Colonel or because of the hit?"

"Makes sense for the Colonel to issue a warrant I bet he's really pissed off he lost her"

"What about the others?"

"No idea, we took photos, they're going through face recognition now"

"Hector, the bugs?"

"Not government issue, foreign, they're too sophisticated to be ours"

"All right, Santos follow up on the photos, I'll send the one from inside the restaurant"

"Estefania, you did good, you wiped your finger prints off the glass ware, someone took it from the kitchen"

I hadn't even realized that she had done that, god how this woman amazed me.

"I'll get in touch with the Colonel, but I think maybe we need to go with operation Evanesce"

The men nodded in agreement but I could see that Steph was confused.

"Tank set it in motion, Ram get what we need and work with Tank, Hector you can be our shadow. Questions?"

Everyone stood and immediately left the room leaving Steph looking extremely confused.

"Ranger what is operation Evanesce?"

"It's a procedure I put in place if I ever thought you needed to disappear because of the danger around you"

"Are you going to send me away?"

The look in her eyes was of dejection, hell no, that wasn't the plan at all. The plan involved someone from the core team being with her, but not now.

"No Babe, we are going, I said I would never leave you"

"Okay, what do I need to do?"

Was I surprised? Maybe, she'd changed in the last month, in the past she would have argued or refused to co-operate but now she was calmer when faced with decisions I was making.

"Babe are you all right with this, I know I sprung it on you?"

"I'm all right with what you're suggesting. The idea that I could be arrested or killed is something I can't even imagine, so you taking control is a good thing. I've spent the last month living and surviving on my own and I think maybe I'm ready for someone else to take over"

I took her into my arms, she was right, she had survived so much and managed to survive, her nerves must be shot to hell. I held her tight, relishing in the closeness of her body, I couldn't lose her now, and I'd do everything in my power to protect her.

"We'll work this one out together Babe, just because we're going off the grid doesn't mean that we can't be following leads, we'll just be in a safer place"

I sent her to get a shower while I put in a call to the Colonel, I would act the annoyed civilian being harassed by government agencies.

"Colonel"

"Ah Manoso, you got something for me?"

"No and I don't like having your goons following me around"

"I want that woman and you are my only lead to her"  
"I handed her over to you Colonel, as ordered, How could I possibly lead you to her?"

"I've done some reading, you're always there to save her so why not now?"

"I've retired Colonel, moved on"

"Yeah I hear you got yourself a new woman"

"Well now I don't have any obligations except to myself I intend to enjoy myself"

"Any chance you'd do one last job and find her for me?"

"Colonel you've issued a warrant so every agency in the country will be looking for her"

"I thought that would increase the odds of finding her"

"Well good luck then Colonel, but I want the men off my back and away from my company"

"Not my call now, these agency men do as they please to get the job done"

"Well if they get in my way I won't be responsible for what I do, so warn them to back off"

I shut down the phone; at least we had one question answered. Now I needed to sort out the details of our escape with Tank and Ram.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

SPOV

I think I was surprised at myself as I went through that last conversation with Ranger in my head. Normally I'd be raring to go out and lay a trap to find who was after me, like when Connie, Lula and I had caught one of the Comstock gang. But now I didn't have it in me, I mean yes I was afraid, but when hadn't I felt like that? But now I felt like I had run out steam without a way out. I mindlessly showered and washed my hair, dried and then decided to go through my routine of shaving, moisturizing and generally beautifying myself. I had no idea where we were going or what facilities there would be. Knowing Ranger we could end up in a wooden cabin in Maine, with no hot water, or even a tent somewhere. The picture of a tent came into my head, one of those canvass ones that had a ridge that you could just stand up under, a woman came into the tent, Alya, that was her name, and she took Mia by the arm and dragged her away. I was livid, no way were they separating us. I remember marching up to a stone building and having it out with two men at the door and pushing the door open and going in. What happened next? I'm sure there was a man in there and Mia was crying, but I couldn't see his face, it was in the shadows out of reach. Dam, I needed to remember that face, I threw my brush on the floor so annoyed and frustrated with myself. Of course Ranger was there in an instant, he'd probably heard the loud bang and thought I'd hurt myself. Dam, I could feel the tears falling, shit why was I this emotional?

"Babe, it's okay, what got you so upset?"

"I was thinking about where we might end up and pictured a tent, then I saw myself go into the stone building but I can't see his face, the face of the man in there"

"Shush, it'll come, you're already remembering so much, don't force it"

"I'm sorry I seem to get so emotional"

"It can happen with a concussion, especially when you're getting frustrated with yourself"

"I know I read the leaflet from the doctor too. When do we leave and what do I need to wear?"

"We leave at 0500, and you'll be fine in jeans and a sweater, something comfy"

"Do I need to pack anything?"

"No it's covered, come on let's get some sleep, do you want to see the distraction before hand?"

"Oh yes please"

I slept well considering the short time I'd had, now I was laid on my back debating whether I wanted to witness this distraction Ranger had said was going to happen. Come on Stephanie, if you don't watch you'll be annoyed with yourself for missing it. I quickly dressed in jeans and a sweater, cat boots and pulled my hair into a ponytail and went through into the kitchen, Ranger handed me a travel mug and a white paper bag. Oh god I hadn't had doughnuts in weeks.

"Eat them once we're on our way"

Could I wait that long? I'd have to and the decision was made when Ranger grabbed the bag, then my hand and pulled me into his office. There on the screen was the image from a camera outside of the building. A black Cayenne drove out of the entrance and turned right onto the street, as that happened a man came into view and threw something at the car. I jumped when the car exploded. Oh god who had been in the car? They didn't have time to get out.

"No one was in the car Babe, Hector was using a remote to control it, there were just mannequins inside"

"Now what?"

"Now we disappear, here put this coat and hat on"

Once again he led me by my hand except this time when we went out of the apartment instead of going down the stairs we went up. He unlocked the door at the top onto the roof and there sat a helicopter. Okay I could cope with a helicopter; I'd been in this one before. When the helicopter slowly lifted I followed it as it moved across the sky.

"Come on, now it's us"

"Us, where to?"

He approached me and fastened a belt around my waist and through my legs, I'm sure I was starting to panic, he did the same with belts for himself then turned me so my front was to his front, fastening the belts together and stepped onto the small wall at the edge of the roof.

"Don't scream, that'll give us away"

I closed my mouth firmly and then my eyes and wrapped my arms and legs around him.

"Not so tight, I need to move"

Then all I could feel was us falling, and the sound of the rope as it passed through his hands, I opened my eyes to look up, a pulley system? When I thought we should hit the ground we didn't, instead a hole opened up and we were swallowed up by it.

"You can stand up now Babe"

I opened my eyes and looked into his, that was okay, not as bad as I thought it would be, a quick kiss on his lips and my boots hit the ground. He undid the rope and it disappeared back up through the hole and suddenly a cover slid over the entrance. I held onto Ranger until he turned on his Maglite.

"Hopefully they'll follow the helicopter, we've got at least a forty minute walk, so keep up"

"Where are we, the sewers?"

"Not exactly, they used to serve the building but we decided to reroute the sewage out to the front and make use of this as an escape route"

I didn't like it, not one bit, especially if I lagged behind and it got a bit darker, in the end I hooked my fingers inside the top of Rangers cargos, that way he couldn't go too fast for me and I wasn't going to get left behind. Our footsteps echoed around us and whilst it didn't smell like I thought it might there was a dank smell, like wet soil, in fact I was surprised at how smooth the floor was with only occasional puddles. It felt a lot longer than forty minutes, I was tired, my breathing was heavy, and I needed to stop, I felt Ranger slow down a bit as we rounded a corner and he shone the beam of light upwards and in front of us again, there ahead the light struck a set of metal steps going vertically up.

"You okay Babe?"

"Yeah, where are we?"

"Safe house, but we're not stopping"

I looked at him, his eyes were cool and assessing, he was in Ranger mode, being aware of his surroundings. He got a fob from his pocket and pointed it above the steps; a clunking sound reverberated throughout the tunnel, then above the ladder a door swung up and across allowing light to shine down on us.

"Stay there while I check the place"

Stay here on my own in the dark? Was he out of his mind? I hated the dark and closed in spaces even more. My breathing hitched and I know I was starting to panic; I could be lost down here forever.

"Babe, I'm here, I'm sorry I didn't think that through, come on let's get you up and into the house"

I put my foot on the bottom rung and used my arms to pull me up, the rungs were further apart than was comfortable, Ranger followed me up the steps though I jumped a bit when I came face to face with Hector grinning at me.

"All clear Ranger, the car flushed out some psychos and the helicopter had a high tech drone following it. I'm worried that the camera on the drone may have picked you up so we need to move fast"

We were in a kitchen, a smart kitchen with white shiny cupboards and red electrical equipment on the worktops. As soon as Ranger stood up he used his fob again and I watched in fascination as the top slid over the hole we'd emerged from. When it clicked back into place you couldn't tell it was there, the floor tiles matching exactly with the rest of the floor. We went through a door into a garage and there sat a BMW K 1600 motorbike, Hector handed me some leathers and a helmet that I quickly got into and then I climbed behind Ranger who was dressed the same.

"You ready for this?"

"Yes, ready"

He dropped the visor on the helmet so I did the same, the garage doors lifted and he slowly drove the bike out onto the street. I looked around, surprised that we were on a street with similar houses down each side, typical suburbia, with kids getting into cars with parents going to school, adults in suits going to work, there was even another couple on a bike similar to ours. At the end of the street we went right as they went left, then I felt the cycle accelerate and gripped Ranger tighter around the waist, now this I could cope with. We seemed to be travelling for hours before Ranger decided to stop, it was only 1pm but it felt so much later, it was a garage stop to fill up with fuel and use the toilets then we were back on the road. I knew we'd been travelling in circles and taking detours to make sure we hadn't been followed and to be honest I was completely lost as to where we were. He'd hardly said a word to me all day, was he regretting having to go on the run with me, was I too much trouble? I didn't know what to think and as I lent against his back wouldn't know what to do if he decided he didn't want me around. It was with these thoughts in my head that I must have dozed off, yeah even I can sleep riding pillion on a fast motorbike. As I felt my self being lifted I jolted awake, opening my eyes to see nothing but trees, shit he was going to leave me in the middle of a forest in wooden hut. When he turned I couldn't believe my eyes, there in front of me was the most amazing building I'd ever seen. All right it was wooden, but the way it was built made it look like it was coming out of the rocks behind it. He entered through the door and gently stood me on my feet, I was mesmerized at the view through the large windows, and in fact the whole wall was window. Beyond the house was the sea, the waves rolling against the stones and shingles of a beach area, it was what I needed; it calmed me. Ranger came up behind me, his arms around my waist.

"I thought you'd like it here"  
"It's beautiful, the view and the house but where are we?"

"Keansburg, or just outside it, south of New York"

"Is this a safe house?"

"No, it's mine, there's an airstrip not far away so it's a good place to come to when I need to. Go take a look around, master bedroom is above this room, overlooking the sea"

The whole house was simple and elegant, open plan with the kitchen, dining area and lounge spread out across the entire ground floor. A spiral staircase from the back corner led up onto a corridor with three doors. I went straight to the one I thought was the master bedroom. Again there was glass from floor to ceiling, the ceiling going up to a point with the beams of the roof exposed. The furnishing was simple and elegant with soft colored fabrics. The bed was enormous with cushions against the wooden headboard, small touches like a lamp; a couch with a throw gave it a warm homely feel. I turned to look at the side opposite the bed and stood there shocked. There hanging on the wall was a large portrait of me. I walked up to it to take a closer look; did I really look like that? My eyes were a bright blue and my brunette hair was falling in curls around my head, not a look I would usually like, but in this portrait it seemed right. Then I was looking at another portrait, a woman who some would say bore a resemblance to me, her eyes not as blue as mine, her hair shorter and maybe a shade lighter. She was looking down at something in her arms, but the portrait stopped before you could see what it was.

"Babe, what's wrong, does it upset you that I have that here?"

"No, I didn't think I looked like that"

"You do, you are a beautiful woman and I love your eyes and your wild curls"

I didn't reply, I was still trying to figure out what it had been about that portrait of Mia's mother that had my senses tingling.

"Babe, did you remember something else?"

"I remembered the portrait in the house, his wife, Mia's mother and what was wrong with it"

"What do you think was wrong with it?"

"There was something else in the picture that had been cut off, she's looking down with such love, oh god, was she looking at Mia as a baby?"

"I don't understand where you're going with this"

"Mia told me her mother died when she was born. Do you think she might be alive?"

"She may have died soon after"

"Or he got rid of her, I'm sure he doesn't love Mia"

"What did she look like?"

"Similar to me, but her eyes are lighter, her hair shorter and maybe a shade lighter. You don't think the clothes that appeared were hers do you?"

"I'll get Tank to check them out, I assume you had them at the apartment?"

"Yeah, I still went home every night"

"You want to eat or walk on the shore?"

"Walk then eat"

Ranger had brought some food that had been stowed in the back box on the bike and produced some sandwiches that I recognized as being made by Ella, all right they were healthy but it filled a gap, along with the cookies I found.

It was peaceful and calming on the beach, there was sand as we went just left of the house and I took off my boots and socks and rolled up my jeans to step into the water, cold but the feel of the water and the sand had me relaxing. Ranger stayed at my side all the time, I felt more settled now than I had when we were on the bike, that he really was with me because he wanted to be. He turned me and looked at me, his hands on either side of my face.

"Babe I never ever want you away from me, I want to go to sleep with you, wake up with you and grow old with you. Will you marry me?"

Did I hear right, did he really ask me to marry him? I waited for the panic to come but it didn't, I wanted this, I wanted him forever.

"Babe?"

"Sorry, I wasn't sure I heard right but I did and yes I want to be with you forever and a day"

The kiss between us wasn't like anything we'd shared before, it was tender and loving, I felt loved and cared for, he wanted me for me, yeah me and all the trouble I brought. My body was responding, those hormones that had been dormant for so long now made me want him so much. As we came up for air I whimpered at the loss of him being so close and moved forward to tease my tongue along his lips and across to his ear.

"I want you to make love to me"

"I have one thing that I need to do first"

What could that be? From his cargo pocket he took out a small blue box and opening it took from it a beautiful ring. The large stone looked blue in the light and had small white and black stones surrounding it, all set onto white gold. As he slid it onto my ring finger he smiled and kissed my hand.  
"Perfect"

And it was, it fit perfectly on my finger as I looked at it in the light. The ring represented so many things, the blue of my eyes and the white and black that was so us. With me in his arms he quickly walked back to the house and entered through a side door, he reset the alarm as I dropped my boots and socks and then led me across the lounge toward the spiral staircase; and that was when we heard the sound of the safety catch of a gun. As we turned toward the sound Ranger pushed me behind him, there at the base of the stairs was Aden.

"So nice of you to bring her here Ranger, somewhere quiet where no one will miss you"

I peered around Ranger, was he on his own, could we disarm him, did he want to hurt us?

"Aden why are you here?"

"For you Steph"

"Why?"

"My boss wants you"

"But why?"

"You'll find out"

Ranger pushed me back again he was going into bodyguard mode, but I didn't want anything to happen to him because of me.

"Aden you lied to get into my company so what exactly do you want?"

"Her"

"How did you find us?"

"I implanted her with a tracker when we were crossing on the ferry, remember I had to knock you out?"

"Why now, why didn't you get me when I was in the desert?"

"Couldn't, it took me days to find my way out of there after those assholes tried to bury us. You were on the move and I didn't have the men to do another snatch so I waited for the right opportunity"

"You're not taking her Aden"

"That's where you're wrong"

Ranger moved forward toward Aden but somehow Aden anticipated it and the two of them scuffled with each trying to overcome the other. I stayed back, out of the way, no way could I do anything to help. The bang from the gun had me jumping but when Ranger began to fall I started to scream, blood was flowing from a wound on his head. Oh god no, he couldn't die; I'd die without him. He was the love of my life, my other half; he had to be all right. As I knelt I found my locket and pushed the two halves together, please someone get here fast, please make sure he's all right. I was clung to Ranger as Aden dragged me away from him and as I started to fight him I felt that single short sharp stab of a needle in my arm. No, no he can't take me away from Ranger, not now please.

RPOV

I was only aware of being alive because of the pain I felt in my head and the nauseous feeling that came over me, shit what the hell had happened? Babe, thinking of her had me panicking and I instantly flinched at the sound of alarms now piercing my ears.

"Ranger man you have to calm down or they'll sedate you again"

Again, how long had I been here? Where was I? But most important where was my Babe?

"Mr. Manoso, can you hear me?"

I nodded, of course I could hear him, I needed to open my eyes to see him. Slowly the muscles in my eyelids seemed to start working and they opened allowing a dim light to reach through.

"Good Mr. Manoso, if you can open your eyes a little more we can see how you're doing"

I finally opened them to see a blurry image in front of me, blinking seemed to help so that's what I did. Better I could now see the man in a white coat and there was Tank at the head of the bed. I needed to keep it together if I was going to get out of here and find out what had happened.

"You're very lucky Mr. Manoso, the bullet grazed your head, enough though to knock you out and give you a concussion. I'll see you in the morning then we'll see about discharging you"

As he left I looked at Tank, he knew I needed to know what the fuck had happened.

"Steph pressed her panic button so Hector was at the house in under five minutes, you were unconscious and bleeding badly so he called for medics and put out the alert to me. Steph wasn't at the house and there's no sign of her or where she was taken"

"How long?"

"It's been 24 hours"

"It was Aden, he was waiting for us in the house, Tank he had a tracker implanted in her when she was first taken, that's how he found us"

"How did Hector not pick that up?"

"I don't know, get him in here"

Would Hector even have checked for trackers on her if he didn't know to look for them? And why wait till we'd made our escape from Trenton? Hector came in looking as tired as I felt, I knew he'd be upset, hell all of my men would be, he'd probably not slept trying to track her down.

"Jefe, I followed tracker to Old Bridge airport, but then she went out of range, I'm sorry"

"Hector she had another tracker on her, can you find that?"

"Tracker? She didn't have one on her before, unless they remotely turned it off and then switched it back on"

"That can be done?"

"Yes. Very expensive, high end, not from this country, but I'll get onto it"

"Tank check out all the departures from the airport, wer'e probably looking for a private jet"

"On it, you get some rest and I'll get back to you when we have something"

My eyes were getting heavy and I realized I needed to conserve my energy; I'd need it for tomorrow when I started in earnest to find my Babe. Hell she'd said yes to me, agreed to marry me and she was wearing my ring, I had to find her, I needed her she was my other half. A wave of desperation overtook me as I realized I hadn't been able to save her but come hell or high water I'd get her back and god help Aden when I met up with him again. By the following morning I was feeling better, the headache was still there, but at least I could move without feeling nauseous, the doctor was happy to release me into the care of Bobby, which was a good thing because I was leaving whether he agreed or not. Tank was unusually quiet on the drive home, which I took as a sign of bad news; normally he'd be itching to report something to me. We went straight to my office, I didn't care now if my men knew I was searching for Steph, in fact if they knew it might lessen the stares and coldness I was feeling that were aimed at me. The core team members were all present so I looked at Tank for him to say something.

"Not good news in as much that there were several flights out in the time scale. One to Washington, one to London and two across to the west coast, passenger manifests were all completed but no mention of Steph or that Aden"

Dam, where would he have taken her and who was his boss?

"Did you find out anything on Aden's military record?"

"Didn't like to take orders, he was eventually told to quit or go before a court martial, he quit so his record looks clean. I put in a call to the group he joined up with afterwards, old buddy is on the management team, they thought he was a wild card, did things his own way and after one of his team members got hurt they got rid of him. That's when he hired himself out"

He had said that he didn't have the men to help him, so why had he taken Steph and Mia from Egypt and not when they were here in Trenton, because Egypt was closer to where he needed to go? I quickly pulled up a map on my computer showing Middle Eastern countries and printed it out, then sat down again looking at it. Santos came up behind me to look over my shoulder.

"What you thinking Ranger?"  
"If you look at where he took them from and then where we found those bodies that had been buried, I remember thinking at the time as to where the hell he was heading"

"We deduced he was heading into Saudi, toward the capitol, Riyadh"

"That's certainly possible. Tank can you find out where the plane that flew into London continued on to?"

"No problem, I have the details of the plane already"

"Ram have we got any further with Burhan?"

"He's still at the house we followed him to, he's only been out once and that was to a restaurant. We managed to get hold of the glass he used so we're trying to find a match, but nothing so far. The problem is that if he isn't on the data base we won't find a match"

"Anyone else at the house?"

"If there is they haven't come out"

"Tank, Steph mentioned that she was given some clothes to wear for the job, go by her apartment and see what might be there, keep a watch out for Morelli and anyone who's still looking for her"

"Jefe, the panic button you gave to Estefania is no longer working, it may be that she is out of range"

"So if we were in range it could still be sending?"

"Si. I can't get anything on the tracker that was used, maybe again she is out of range"

"Hector put together what you would need to find them and be ready to move out"

"We planning on going somewhere?"

"Yes, I just have a gut reaction that she's in Riyadh. Tank you stay and cover the investigation here, Santos put a team together and work with Ram on the equipment we'll need, I'm going to talk to Kendrick and see what he can do to get us there"

Everyone had a job to do, so why did I feel so frustrated, probably because I couldn't work out who now had Steph and why, we were still no closer to finding the American that was visiting the camp where Steph and Mia were, and where did Mia fit in to all of this? I went to my phone to get on with trying to get us into Saudi, quietly.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

SPOV

I slowly began to wake up from the fog and haze that had engulfed me, what happened and where was I? I wasn't aware that Ranger was with me, oh god, Ranger; he'd been shot at the house by the sea. I could still see the blood pooling under his head and remembered how still he had been, I'd tried to get to him but had been pulled away. He couldn't be dead, could he? Images of another time he'd been badly shot flooded my thoughts, him lying in my hall with blood flowing from the wound on his neck, I'd panicked then and I was panicking now. What would I do without him? We'd just agreed to spend the rest of our lives together and now he'd been taken from me. My eyes filled with tears as the feeling of loneliness and despair flooded through me. I didn't have it in me to fight anymore, I had lost everything, and I had lost my reason to carry on. But first I would get the bastard that did that to us, he'd interfered in my life too many times. And for what, where the hell was I going and who wanted me? My tears turned to sobs as I realized just how much I loved and missed him. I didn't even realize that I had fallen asleep crying, I felt weak and slightly nauseous and I couldn't stop shaking. A hand on my shoulder made me jump and I turned to see an older woman smiling down at me. She had dark hair that was showing strands of grey running through its length, fastened back into a bun at the nape of her neck. Her face was round and friendly with brown eyes set against skin that showed her age from the wrinkles around the eyes and her mouth.

"Come my dear, we have a car journey to take, it won't be long before you can rest properly"

I felt the back of the chair I was in slowly rise, making me sit up, it was then I realized that I was inside a small plane, a very luxurious plane. I think the woman must have realized how weak I was because she helped me to my feet and supported me as we walked down the aisle toward the door. Bright sunlight hit my face and I had to squint to make anything out. It was nowhere I recognized, there were tall buildings all around but no other landmarks, no hills or trees, just a heat haze shimmering in the distance. I was led to a large white limousine, again helped in by the woman who got in beside me. As the car moved away from the airport I almost heard myself groan at the sight surrounding me, sand, miles and miles of sand. Another house surrounded by palm trees and behind a white wall with large gates that opened as we approached. Armed guards seemed to everywhere even standing guard at the main entrance to the house. Please, please don't let this be another house owned by Burhan, yes I could remember the house that Mia and I had gone to in Egypt, though this was far bigger and looked to be more opulent. The same woman helped me from the car and together we walked through the doors into a huge entrance; a staircase flowed against the wall, wider than I'd ever seen before, and everything was white, even the marble floors. As we reached a doorway it opened and a younger woman stood looking at me, a smile on her face. She looked familiar, but I was sure I'd never met her before, she held my elbow and led me to a dark blue upholstered couch, sitting down with me at her side.  
"Nadia, bring us some iced tea please and something light to eat"

I didn't say anything, I couldn't because I was suddenly overwhelmed with not having Ranger with me; tears slowly trickled down my cheeks.

"My dear Stephanie, what's wrong?"

I just stared at her, how could she ask that when she'd had Ranger killed.

"Please Stephanie, I don't know why you're so upset"

"He's dead"

"Who is?"

"Ranger, that man you sent shot him"

"Ranger, who's he?"

"The man I was with, the man I love"

The tears now became the inevitable sobs as my body once again gave in to my emotions. I felt her arm go around me and she patted me on the back like a parent might.

"Stephanie, I never told Aden to kill anyone, and if he did then he will be punished"

No way was I going to talk to her; I slowed my sobs and pulled away from her.

"He was important to you wasn't he?"

I showed her the ring that was still on my finger, oh god, he'd only just given it to me; we were going to celebrate our engagement.

"Stephanie, you need to know who I am and why you're here"

She got up and left the room leaving me on my own. Nadia appeared with out a sound and placed a tray on the table in front of me, it looked lovely, tall glasses with lemon and ice in and fruit with cheese. My nerves wouldn't allow me to eat instead I stood up and slowly walked around the room. It was huge but I wasn't focused on where I was, I needed to know if Ranger was all right. I didn't want to look out onto the view of the garden area, it didn't suit my mood, I turned and found myself looking at a large portrait, one I'd seen before but this one seemed complete. It was the same woman as the one in Burhan's picture, but here the woman was looking down at the baby in her arms, she looked so young. She had such a look of love in her eyes as she looked down. I wiped away the tears falling again, my mind kept going to Ranger, please let him be alive.

"That was taken when Mia was a few days old, only weeks before my husband was murdered"

I turned to see that the woman had returned and was stood by me also looking at the picture, was that her in the portrait? I suppose it could be if it was done nine years ago.

"You're Mia's mother?"

"Yes, my name is Maria"

"But Mia said you were dead"

"That's what she's been told"

"Then what about the man who's Mia's father"

"That bastard has told Mia he's her father, but he isn't"

"Who is he then?"

"Come let's sit down and I will you tell you the whole story"

I sat back on the couch where I'd been earlier, waiting for her to tell her story, but could I believe her, would she lie to me to me in order to seduce me with her lies? She sat down beside me and handed a glass to me taking one for herself; she sighed, before going on with her story.

"My husband, Khalid, and I met when he was in the States attending university in New York. It was love at first sight and by the time he had finished his courses we knew we were meant to be together forever. His family wasn't so keen on him being married to someone who didn't have the same background, and wasn't from here. But in the end they came round and eventually I found I liked their way of life and we agreed that after Mia was born we'd come here to live. But Khalid's older brother didn't like that. I also think he wanted what Khalid had, me and Mia and the love of his parents. Omar was sullen and had an evilness about him, I'm sure he killed Khalid, they'd been arguing a lot over parts of their fathers business, Omar wanted to venture into dark areas where he said there was lots of money to be made. Khalid refused, as did their father. After Khalid died it almost destroyed me, I saw the same look in your eyes when you thought your man was dead"

"But why does he have Mia"

"He took her from me and disappeared with her, I've been trying to find her all this time, but he says if I go near her he'll sell her, or kill her"

"But what do I have to do with this?"

"I think he sees you as me, we look similar and from what I heard you and Mia got on really well, he wouldn't like that, he'd see you as someone trying to get Mia"

"But why did you bring me here?"

"To protect you, he now wants you dead, I told you he's evil and probably mad"

I really needed to think through what she'd just told me, should I believe her? She seemed so sincere but to be honest my senses were telling me that I needed to be careful.

"Maria, I'm really tired, is there somewhere I can have a sleep?"

"Of course, I'll get Nadia to show you to your room, please use anything in there"

Nadia suddenly appeared, did that woman always have a smile on her face? We walked up the staircase and turned down a wide corridor to a door at the end.

"You'll find everything you need in here, but if you want anything else then just ask"

"Thank you Nadia"

Once inside I closed the door and stood back leaning on it. A shower and bed were my priorities at the moment, and the bathroom seemed to have everything I needed and I soon emerged with a towel wrapped round me, Nadia must have been in the room while I was showering because there was a silk nightdress laid out on the bed, it felt like silk, soft and smooth. Once ready for bed I turned down the sheet and snuggled up to a pillow willing my self to sleep, to forget the horror of watching Ranger being shot. I knew I was dreaming but I couldn't break free of it, not that it made any sense. The face of Maria holding a baby and how she looked now, Omar and the way he had looked at me at our first meeting as he took my hand then Maria's face changed to mine with Ranger laid on the floor. I woke with a start, my skin wet with sweat and my heart beating quickly, after remembering where I was I needed to walk or to get some fresh air. I found the matching robe and went over to the large glass door at the far side of the room, maybe there was a balcony where I could go out. I quietly opened the door to the sound of voices below me. I'm sure one of them was Maria but I wasn't sure of the other, was it one that I recognized or not? The man was talking in quick short sentences.

"Why is she here?"

"Aden brought her"

"Was that what you told him to do?"

"Yes"

"But why?"

"You know why"

"I like your thinking but here isn't the right place and I'm not sure that I trust Aden"

"He came well recommended"

"Well I don't like it"

"But he usually gets things done"

"Oh, I'm sure he does, but it's how he gets things done that I don't like"

"I'm not sure what you mean"

"Have him here first thing in the morning, I'll deal with him"

I heard retreating footsteps and decided their conversation was over, I wondered if she was the boss or the man? I didn't like the tone of voice of either one of them and I definitely didn't trust Aden. In fact come to think about it where the hell had he implanted a tracker on me, I stepped back into the room and went in search of a mirror, the bathroom that's where I'd seen one. I started with my arms running my hands from my shoulders to my wrist, my shoulder didn't hurt now but I noticed a small lump on the front of the bone I'd broken. I lifted each arm up and scrutinized the reflection, there on the back of my left arm was a small straight scar that I didn't remember having before. I squeezed at either side of it and felt a small lump. I needed to get rid of it but how did I do that? Cut it out? Was I brave enough to do that? I'd need a really sharp blade, maybe one from a razor? For some reason I felt like a woman on a mission and felt an overwhelming need to get rid of this tracker so I took a razor apart to pull out the blade. Standing as close to the mirror as I could get I pushed the blade into my skin following the scar I'd found, shit that hurt, I must be mad to be doing this, but I gritted my teeth and tried again until the cut was deep and blood was pouring down my arm. Then I squeezed the skin behind the cut, I could feel the small lump moving, and at last in my bloody hand was a small cylindrical plastic capsule. I used toilet paper to soak up the blood and looked for some first aid things.

Once showered again with a dressing and bandage round my arm I was definitely ready to sleep, I looked at the tiny capsule on the bedside table and then I brought my locket to my lips, saying a prayer for Ranger. The next morning I woke early to the sound of the bedroom door opening, Nadia came in carrying a tray with domed plates on and a cup and carafe of coffee, she placed them on the table by a couch and left. I didn't want to eat but realized I probably hadn't eaten anything for a long time. I sat down on the couch and lifted the dome from a plate that had bread, jam, cold meat and cheeses on it. Not something that I really fancied. I poured some coffee into a cup and looked at it, then for some reason smelt it, was I being paranoid? It smelt strange, maybe just a different type of coffee? No, something wasn't right. I stood up and went to the door to discover it was locked, why would I be locked in? Now my spidey senses started buzzing, I needed to get out of here and fast, but not dressed in a silk nightshirt. The closet had all sorts of clothes in it, from formal eveningwear to casual joggers, I chose some knee length yoga pants, a T-shirt and a long sleeved shirt that went down over my backside, trainers and a base ball cap completed the outfit. I caught my reflection in the mirror and laughed to myself when I realized I was dressed in black. I put my hair into a ponytail and moved back to the door, still locked. I needed to give myself some time before anyone realized I had tried to get out. A chair from in front of a desk fit perfectly under the handle when it was tipped back a little, well that would stop Nadia from barging in. I then went to the balcony doors and opened one of them just enough to slip out. On my hands and knees I peered through the concrete stanchions out onto the garden area, no men in sight but there were three dogs roaming around and the gate to head for was on the far side of the garden. I bet those dogs weren't like Bob and would roll over for a rub on their belly, but maybe they'd like my breakfast, all dogs like food don't they? I'd have to climb down a trellis that went from the side of the balcony to the ground but I'd need both of my hands to do that. Closet, I'd seen some bags in the closet so using one of them I stuffed it with the food from the plates, and just to add to the illusion that I was still in the room turned on the shower and closed the bathroom door. Now to climb down; not easy especially when I had to stand on the rail at the edge of the balcony and reach over. I just prayed no one came into the garden and looked up. The climb down was easier than I thought it would be and as I stepped down onto the flagged area I opened the bag ready for the dogs to find me, sure enough they trotted over, maybe they thought as I was already in the garden I wasn't a threat, yeah right, one grizzled and showed his teeth to me and began to slowly advance to where I was stood.

"Sweet doggy, you're such a beautiful doggy, here have some breakfast"

I threw some meat to my left and watched as the one nearest to me went to smell it and gulped it down in one bite. Okay now the rest of the food, so I literally emptied the bag out and started to back away from them, heading for the gate. Once half way there I turned and ran the rest of the way, please let the gate be open, don't be locked. As I reached the gate I turned to make sure the dogs hadn't followed, sure they would have eaten everything by now only to be shocked when I saw all three of them laid down on the ground where the food had been. The bitch had drugged the food, did she intend to kill me or just knock me out? Never mind open the gate Stephanie and get out of here. The gate opened easily so I crept through; keeping low to the ground as it closed behind me I noticed there wasn't a handle on the outside so I suppose it kept people out but not in. There was some cover from bushes but I realized that this was where the guards were patrolling. They didn't look toward the wall; they were only interested in what was going on around the outside of the property. Okay they were patrolling so at some stage they'd move round the corner and this side would be unguarded. I watched and waited timing how long it was between men appearing; at the next interval I was going to run across the road and hopefully disappear on the other side. I timed it so that as the guards went round the corner I sprinted toward the road; shit a car, where the hell had that come from? I opened the door and threw myself in shocking the driver, but it was me that got the biggest shock.

RPOV

I knew Kendrick would come through for me when I told him why I needed to ask yet another favor, he'd liked Steph when he first met her, probably another man that had fallen under her spell. We were about to land at an army base airfield just outside of the Saudi capitol of Riyadh, and because it was military we had been able to bring the equipment we needed. Santos and Ram had packed well, each of us carrying our own backpacks and essentials, whilst Hector was carrying any electronics we'd need. Santos had somehow managed to get us two vehicles, he didn't say how and I didn't ask, just as long as they were legal. The plan was for all of us to stay at an apartment Ram had rented and then using Hectors magic hope that we could pick up Stephs panic button. We'd decide what to do next when we found her and how to get out of here. It had been 60 hours since I'd been shot and Steph had gone missing, I felt like it was longer, I missed her and had a deep need to be with her, I just prayed that she hadn't been hurt.

"Hector are you all set up?"

"Almost, just need to set the frequency"

"Primo, patience, we'll find her"

A beeping had us all turning to look at Hector, a big smile on his face.

"Look, there she is"

On the screen we could see the blue blip marking the place where she was, or at least where her locket was, according to the map she was out of the city in an area that had mainly expensive mansions.

"I'm going to look around"

"What, on your own?"

"Yes, I'll be less obvious than a group of us"

"You want backup?"

"No, I have the watch Hector made for me, it has a tracker and panic button"

"Not sure it's a good idea"  
"Well I do"

I had to get to her, the need was overwhelming and for some reason I knew everything would all right. I took one of the cars and drove to the area where the house was, lots of guards and a sophisticated security set up made it impossible to break in, even for me. I'd need days to recon the place and set up systems to over ride the alarms. I drove past the front of the property noting where the gates and front door were then turned left to follow the outside of the walls. Guards were patrolling the external walls of the property but they left an opening as each pair of guards turned the corner, possibly enough time to get to the wall unseen. As I turned left again to keep the perimeter of the building in sight I was suddenly aware that someone had yanked open the passenger door and had thrown themselves in, a blur of black turned to me and to say I was shocked was an understatement.  
"Drive, get us out of here"

I didn't need telling twice, I floored the accelerator and took a right heading away from the house. I looked again at my hijacker and smiled, hell only my Babe could do something so outlandish and get the timing perfect.  
"Babe, are you okay?"

Tears were streaming down her face and she lent forward putting her hands over her face. After checking that we weren't being followed I stopped the car and physically lifted her over onto me.

"I thought you were dead, there was so much blood and you didn't move"

"Babe I'm fine, the bullet just grazed me and I got knocked out"

"Oh god I didn't know what to do"

"Shush, I'm here now, don't cry"

She moved back and looked at me, her hands stroking down from my hair, my cheeks and shoulders as if she needed to confirm that I was really there, then her arms were around my neck pulling me to her as tight as she could. I had my arms wrapped around her just as tightly, my face in her hair smelling her and feeling her.

"Babe we need to get out of here"

She smiled and wiped the tears from her face then moved back into the passenger seat.

I made a call to Santos to say I had Steph with me and would be back in a couple of hours, then I held Stephs hand on my thigh as I carefully drove the car into the capitol and toward the Ritz Carlton Hotel. As I stopped the car for the valet to park Steph turned and looked at me her face curious as to why we were here.

"You asked me to do something before we were interrupted"

I walked around the car and helped her out then with her hand in mine walked up to the reception desk. With the flash of a gold card I was given the key card to one of their executive club suites, no one seemed overly interested in our appearance or lack of luggage and we were soon on the top floor entering the suite. I locked the door and turned Steph into my arms, god I had missed her so much, and I needed to feel her, connect with her. I lifted her in my arms and walked through to the bedroom standing her in front of me. Tears filled her eyes.

"I thought you were dead, there was so much blood, and your head"

"Hey, I'm fine, the bullet just grazed me and gave me a hell of a headache"

"Oh god, I didn't know what to do, I couldn't live without you in my life"

I held her face in my hands and kissed her softly on the lips, but that wasn't enough, I needed to taste her to feel her so as her lips parted I pushed my tongue into her mouth, savoring the feel of her. Her crying had stopped and was now replaced with quiet sighs as she reciprocated the duel that was now taking place. I moved my mouth across to her ear and then down her neck, her skin felt soft and sweet as I moved down her body. My hunger for her was building ignited by her touch on my chest as she pulled my T-shirt over my head and then brought her hands down through my hair. I pushed her onto her back and pulled away the shirt and T-shirt that covered her breasts, finding the nipples with my mouth and hand, licking and nipping until they stood out hard. Then continued my journey south past her stomach taking her trousers and pants with them, returning to the tops of her thighs. She parted her legs, writhing under me, sending a fire throughout my body. At her folds I parted them with my fingers, she was so wet, and judging by the movement of her hips she was so ready. Her first orgasm had her screaming my name and by now I so needed to be inside her. I removed my cargos and knelt between her legs and pulled her up to my chest, attacking her mouth once more. Her arms encircled me as she straddled my thighs, she was so beautiful, so receptive to me, she was my other half; she made me feel complete. I felt her grasp my hard erection, her hands making me harder than I thought possible. I lifted her and allowed my erection to slowly sink into the depths of her folds; the feeling of her around me was euphoric, sending shivers of pleasure through out my whole body. Her lips found my neck and as she sucked I plunged into her, she felt so tight and welcoming. I slowly rocked, needing to slow down the pace; even this motion did nothing to dampen my desire. Her moans and sighs were my undoing, I pushed her back so that her shoulders were resting on the bed and began to increase my movement, each thrust going deeper, and eliciting sheer delight inside me. My hands tweaked at her breasts and massaged her stomach, until I felt her pelvis push forward and knew she was so close, I rubbed at her clit as I took my two final thrusts feeling an orgasm so strong and so new to me. Her walls clamped around me drawing me in and extending the climax I was feeling as my seed rushed out. I shouted out her name at the same time as she did. As the after shudders continued I pulled her up to me and kissed her one more time, before carefully laying on my side with her still with me. My breathing began to slow as well as my heart rate; she turned her face up to mine and smiled, kissing my chin.

"You owed me an engagement celebration"

"How did you find me?"

"Your locket, I brought a team out here to get you home, or at least to somewhere safe. I assume your experience is a long story, so why don't we shower and then get you something to eat?"

I always said I was good in the shower, and from the sounds that Steph made I was sure of it. After a passionate session I dried her taking in her appearance. She'd lost weight again and her hair wasn't as shiny as usual.

"Babe, what happened to your arm?"

She looked down at the floor, a sure indication that she was embarrassed.

"I had to get that tracker out that Aden put in me"

"You cut it out?"

She nodded, hell she must have been determined because I'm sure doing it hurt her badly.

"Let me redress it, then we'll order some food"

I carefully redressed it using some butterfly plasters to get the skin together, and then dressed in my cargos and T-shirt turning I noticed that Steph was in the closet pulling out a robe courtesy of the hotel.

She looked much better than she had when I'd arrived but she was still pale, I was worried about her, she seemed tense and yet at the same time melancholy, we really needed to get this whole fiasco sorted out so that we could get on with our life together.

I ordered from the menu, hoping my choice would please her and was pleasantly surprised when it arrived so quickly.

As we sat in the dining area at a round table and cushioned chairs the waitress presented us with Koshary. I turned to Steph to explain what it was on her plate.

"Koshary, a layering of rice, macaroni, lentils, and chickpeas topped off with caramelized onions, thick red sauce, and a garlic/chili/vinegar/ sauce. It's an interesting mix, but you'll find it's delicious"

As expected as soon as she tasted what was in front of her, her moans told me that she liked the taste, at least she would be getting plenty of carbs into her, though for once I wouldn't object to her eating anything. As she wiped the last remnant from her plate I lifted the dome for the final dish.

"It's konafa filled with cream, baked and eaten with syrup"

"Will I like it?"

"Yes Babe you will love it"

Steph finished her dessert and looked at me, she was thinking and from the look on her face she didn't like what she was thinking.

"Talk to me Babe"

"Aden took me to that house and a woman was there, she said she was Maria but I don't know, she sounded too bitter and well, she told me her story or at least a version of it. She said she met her husband, Khalid; when he was in the States attending university in New York. That it was love at first sight but his family wasn't so keen on him being married to someone who didn't have the same background. But Khalid's older brother didn't like it. She said he wanted what Khalid had, her and Mia and the love of his parents. She said Omar was sullen and evil, and that he killed Khalid after arguing over their fathers business, Omar wanted to venture into dark areas where he said there was lots of money to be made. Khalid refused, as did their father. When I asked why Omar had Mia she said he took her and disappeared"

"Did she say why they had brought you here?"

"She said she wanted to protect me from Omar, but she was lying. I overheard her talking to someone, a man, they were annoyed with Aden for bringing me here, I think they're going to kill him"

"Why were you outside the wall running away?"

"They'd locked my door and my spidey senses were going nuts so I decided I needed to leave. There was breakfast for me this morning, I didn't want to eat it and ended up feeding the guard dogs with it to distract them. Ranger they fell asleep or died from eating it"

"You know you have the best senses in the world don't you?"

She was upset and so was I, those bastards intended to hurt her or worse kill her, and the question was why?

"Babe what did you do with the tracker?"

She looked down obviously embarrassed, chewing her bottom lip. I used my thumb to loosen it.

"What were you going to do?"

"Well I wanted to get my hands on Aden so that I"

"You wanted to bait him and what?"

"Hurt him like he hurt you"

The last sentence came out in a rush, I knew she could find him but she wouldn't be able to get her revenge by killing him.

My phone vibrated in my pocket so I took it out and answered it.

"Santos"

"Ranger are you all right, you've been there for hours"

"I'm fine and Steph is with me, we're leaving but I need the team to meet me at north entrance to Salam Park by the car and tell Hector to bring his toys"

Steph dressed not questioning what we going to be doing, we left the room and the hotel and were driving toward the park, Steph turned to me and smiled, her hand touching my cheek.

"Thank you"

"For what?"

"Being there when I needed you and the hotel, it was perfect"

"I'm always here for you and yes the hotel was perfect"

As we I stopped the car next to where Santos had parked Stephs door opened and Santos pulled her from her seat.

"Beautiful, you okay?"

"Yes, I am now that all of you are here"

"Steph where's that tracker?"

"Here in my pocket"

"Give it to Hector, Hector this is the tracker he implanted in Steph, go with Santos"

"Santos take Hector with you and go into Salam Park, stay there for a while and let's see if we can flush Aden out, use our coms and stay in touch"

I watched as Santos and Hector drove off then turned to Ram and Steph.

"We'll follow them at a distance and see if Aden follows the tracker"

We were about 15 minutes behind them when I heard Santos over my ear bud.

"The rat is in the trap"

"You've got him?"

"Oh yeah, he walked right past me and up to Hector, so I used one of those dart guns on him, where do you want him?"

"Take him to Oud cemetery, west approach, we'll meet you there"

Ram knew the way and we were soon parked behind Santos.

"Ranger what are you going to do to him?"

"Get some answers Babe"

"I want to be there"  
"Babe it could get nasty"

And I didn't want her to see that side of me, that dark side where I could loose all humanity.

"Don't worry I'll leave him alive for you"

I turned quickly to look at Steph, expecting her to be smiling but her face was deadly serious when she'd said that. We made out way through the cemetery past the stones displaying the names of the dead. Aden was tied up against one of the stones that formed row upon row that made up this part of the cemetery. He hadn't recognized Santos or Hector but when he saw Steph and me walking side by side toward him I'm sure he paled, I could feel my muscles tense as I came closer to him, death would be too quick for him, maybe the Saudi way of amputation might be more fitting. Steph stepped in front of him determined to be the one to talk with him first.

"Aden, what does it feel like to be drugged and kidnapped, afraid of what might happen next?"

"I'm sorry"

"Sorry for doing it once, but twice? No you're not sorry. Did Omar put you up to it?"

"No"

No one saw her pull her leg back and then kick him as hard as she could in the groin. He screamed with the pain and tried to double over. He looked at me as if I would stop her, or could stop her. He could see the fire in her eyes and began to whimper.

"You going to tell me the truth now Aden?"

"Please, I only did my job"

This time her knee came up into the side of his face sending his head to the side, I don't know where the knife had come from, but she had it against his throat, a trickle of blood running down his neck. Santos looked at me, did he think I would stop her, even if I could did I want to take payback away from her? Aden was definitely panicking, I think he knew she wouldn't stop, she was a force of nature so strong and determined even he could see it, but I wouldn't let her kill him, she wouldn't be able to cope with that, her soul was too bright to carry that guilt.

"All right, I'll tell you but you have to get this mad woman away from me"

She turned his head with the blade and looked right into his eyes.

"Remember what you once said to me Aden, an Islamic tradition, blue often signifies the impenetrable depths of the universe, and turquoise blue is thought to have mystical qualities, look at my eyes now and believe, euyun zurqa' 'iilhia."

So that was why some of the men were afraid of her, her divine blue eyes that could change from azure to the deepest of blue depending on her mood.

"He wants power and money, his business is failing but he has some new weapon he needs to sell"

"Then why bring me here to Riyadh?"

"Maria wanted me to bring you and Mia here when I took you from Egypt"

"Why?"

"I don't know"

"But why this time?"

"I just got a message to take you there"

"Who from?"

"I just assumed it was Maria, but there are other people involved"

I went and knelt down beside him but looked at Steph, tracing my fingers down her cheek, god she was so beautiful when she was like this, strong and determined and yes her eyes were now a deep azure blue. As I looked at my Babe I continued with the questions, to all intent and purposes I was totally under her spell.

"Who is the buyer?"

"I don't know, only that he's American"

"How do you get in touch with Omar?"

"He gets in touch with me"

"You know Maria wants you dead now don't you, you're a liability to her"

"I know, that's why I didn't go back to the house"

"So why did you follow Stephs tracker here?"

He looked away, for some reason he wasn't telling us everything and at the moment I didn't think he would even if we hurt him badly.

"Santos knock him out and load him up, make sure you empty his pockets"

I took the knife carefully from the strong grip that Steph had on it, peeling her fingers from it one by one. She relaxed once it was taken from her, as though her energy had been taken with it. I stood up taking her in my arms and walked over to the car laying her gently onto the back seat.

"Meet back at the airport, I'll contact Kendrick and see where he's flying to next. We can regroup then plan out what we do next"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

SPOV

I know I was warm, and snuggled up against Ranger, but I wasn't sure where I was or how I had got here. The last thing I remember was threatening Aden, should I feel guilty for feeling so good about doing that? He was responsible for so many things that had gone wrong in my life, surely he deserved it? Oh god, did I kill him?

"Shush Babe, no you didn't kill him, you frightened him to death though and you got answers from him, you were brilliant. I'm proud of how you held yourself together, but where the hell did you get that knife from?"

I laughed at the question he had asked and without opening my eyes I gave him the answer.

"Hector"

Hector had slipped it to me when we'd got to the cemetery and I'd hidden it down the side of my yoga pants next to my thigh.

I opened my eyes to Ranger looking at my face; his hand was on my cheek while the other was wrapped around me as I sat across his knees. I panicked and looked around.

"Where are we?"

"Military cargo aircraft, on our way to Grafenworh, Germany"

"Why there?"

"That's where Kendrick has to unload equipment, so we hitched a lift"

"Are you allowed to do that?"

"Technically a serving officer can hitch a lift with an aircraft"

I smiled because that meant not really, but we were doing it and I'm sure there'd be no record of any stowaways on board. The plane shuddered which was what had probably woken me up, I looked around, there looked to be large crates strapped down and we were sat on the floor lent against the side.

"Where's Aden?"

"On the other side with Santos, Hector and Ram. He's not going anywhere"

"What happens when we get there?"

"We have use of a small cabin in Manteler forest for a few days to plan out what we do next"

The plane dropped and my stomach went with it, shit were we going down?

"We're about to land so it may get bumpy"

Bumpy, is that what he called it? My grip around Ranger tightened as I felt the wheels touch the ground and then relaxed, why were we still moving? We came to a stop and then I felt the plane turning around. Ram was already at a door at the side of the plane and he quickly opened it, Hector and Ram moved a small crate and started to lower it by rope then turned to me.

"You next Beautiful"

I looked through the door into blackness, no stairs, how the hell was I supposed to get down? Lester tied a rope around my waist and tried to push me out of the door, no way was that happening.

"Babe, we're going to lower you down, we need to be quick before Kendrick taxis the plane up to the hangers"

Big breath girl, they won't let you fall. I slowly sat on the edge then felt myself being lowered down. A soon as my feet hit the ground I undid the rope and watched as each man was lowered down, I assume the pilot lowered Ranger because as soon as he untied the rope it was pulled back up and the door was shut. We were at the end of the runway and Ranger grabbed my hand and pulled me to beyond the tarmac where there was an old jeep parked. It wasn't long before we were unloading and walking into the cabin, this was going to be fun, there were two rooms and a bathroom, at least we had a working toilet I wasn't sure if there was hot water, probably not. The main room was set up with a kitchen area and table with benches and an area with two large couches around a coffee table. It was bare and it was old but I suppose for a few days I could survive. The second room was a bedroom with bunk beds and a fold down bed, only mattresses, no bedding. The floors and walls were both made from logs laid on top of each other, but once a fire was lit it was warm enough. I left the men to organize themselves whilst I lay on the couch, trying to think, what we'd been told by different people just didn't make sense to me and I needed to think it through.

Aden had said Omar wanted power and money, that his business was failing but that he had some new weapon he needed to sell. Why did Aden kidnap us from Cairo, where was he taking us, and whom was he taking us to, was it Maria? Then there was what Maria had said, that Khalid's family didn't like him with her, Maria wanted to live in Saudi with her husband, but Omar didn't like that. He wanted what Khalid had, Maria and Mia and the love of his parents. Maria had said that Omar was sullen and was evil, and that she was sure he'd killed Khalid, that they'd been arguing a lot over parts of their fathers business, Omar wanted to venture into dark areas where he said there was lots of money to be made. Aden had worked for her and had managed to get close to Omar when he noticed Omar's obsession with me. So how did we end up being taken again from Aden only to meet up with, I assume, the buyer. No someone was lying big time only I didn't know who it was.

"Babe?"

I jumped not realizing Ranger had knelt down next to the couch.

"You're frowning, what's worrying you?"

"Everything and everyone"

"Talk me through it"

So I went through everything I'd just been thinking about, and the more I said the more convinced I was that I was right to question every ones motives.

"You make a good argument and I have to agree with your logic, so what do you need to find out?"

"Who the American is"

He laughed at that.

"What's so funny?"

"Babe, if we could find that out then I think all our problems would be solved, the thing is no one we've talked to seems to know who he is"

"I've seen him, I need to do some searches, and he's tied in more personally than just being some random man who wants to buy weapons"

"All right, I've sent Santos out for some food, when we've eaten I'll get Hector to set you up with a laptop"

I could have kissed Lester when he brought in a large bag that smelled like heaven, pizza, mouth-watering pizza with every topping imaginable covered in thick melted cheese.

"Thought you'd appreciate that, there's also a bag from Dunkin Donuts just for you Beautiful"

I didn't say a word, I don't think I needed to, the smile on my face and the kiss I placed on his cheek must have told him how much I loved what he'd brought. As we sat at the table I'm sure I moaned my way through everything, hell everything tasted so tasty and had the taste buds in mouth rioting. Both Ranger and Lester looked uncomfortable but I didn't care, I was stuffed full and now felt full of energy. I looked over at Ranger who sensed me watching him; he smiled and kissed the top of my head as he got up.

"Hector can you set Steph up with a laptop to do some searches?"

"Si, here at the table?"

I nodded and went and fetched a cushion from one of the couches to sit on, if I was going to be sat here for a while I needed to be comfortable.

"Babe, Hector will be inside with you, Ram is on patrol outside and Lester is getting some sleep to do the second watch, I'm going to talk with Aden"

I sat down and booted up the laptop and went into the search program, now how to go about this. I knew there was nothing on Burhan and without last names this wasn't going to be easy. I reduced that box and went into the universities in New York, putting in the year just before Mia was born. I wanted to find some photographs with names and surely Khalid wouldn't be a popular name. I started with Business and Economic courses, Maria hadn't said what course he'd taken but those seemed as good a place as any to start. Three hours later and I was still trolling through photographs when I came across one naming one of the students as Khalid Hanbury, that made sense when I thought about the name Omar had given me, for some reason people always liked to stay with something familiar. Okay now to put that name into the search, yes he seemed to be the one I was looking for, he was doing a university course in Business and Economics, just as I had thought. The search brought up a history for him that ended abruptly when Mia was born, but what was strange was that there was no record of him being married or of having a daughter, he'd died in a mugging in Saudi, maybe that's why Maria thought Omar was responsible because no one had been charged with the attack. Now I had a last name so I put Omar Hanbury into the search. Interesting, he had homes all over the world and listed his occupation as Entrepreneur. There were no marriages or children only the names for his parents, their mother had died a number of years ago, before Khalid had gone to America to study and the father had retired and was travelling around the world, I saved that information to a file on the laptop. I needed to find Maria; my spidey senses were telling me that she was the key to all of this. The problem was how? I didn't have a last name and Khalid's information hadn't mentioned her. She looked like me, maybe if I photo shopped my image, you know changed the hair and the eyes and the shape of her face? I brought up my image from ten years ago and changed the hair to being shorter and less frizzy, more wavy and lighter. Okay her eyes were a paler blue and her nose was slightly longer than mine and her cheeks were fuller. I sat back and looked at the image I'd created, I tweaked with the shape of her eyes a bit and was amazed that it looked so much like the portrait.

"Hector, can I access a face recognition program on here?"

Hector came over and using the mouse clicked on an icon I'd not really noticed before.

"Where is photo?"

"Use this one"

"Let me set this up for you it's going to take awhile and you need to sleep, Ranger is already asleep, he's on last watch"

"Where?"

"He's next door with Ram and the prisoner, you sleep on couch"

I wasn't going to argue, I was tired and at least I'd hear when the program found something. Hector brought a blanket for me and watched as I lay down, then he turned off the lights and sat back on the other couch. I was missing the feel of Ranger beside me, his warm body, the smell of him. How did I get so lucky for us to be together? I twisted the ring on my finger just to make sure I hadn't dreamt that day he'd given it to me and immediately saw him on the floor with a pool of blood around his head, no, he was alive and here, he wasn't dead. I must have been crying out in my sleep because suddenly I could feel him here with me, his hands stroking my hair and back, he was alive and he'd come and found me, brought me with him. I felt myself relax and this time I saw his face as it had been when he'd made love to me at the hotel in Riyadh, his eyes black with desire as he kissed me making me love him even more if that was possible. A dinging sounded that was so out of context to what I was seeing that I opened my eyes and found myself in the cabin in Germany, alone in the room. The dinging was coming from the computer; the search for the face must have found something. I got up quickly and went to see what it had found, holding my breath, I didn't know what to expect, was I excited or feeling worried? Maybe the image I'd produced wasn't good enough. What on earth was the program telling me? Yes it had found several possible matches but the names that came up had me questioning my sanity. They all seemed to be the same woman but each had a different name associated with it. It seemed Maria was not who she said she was, so who exactly was she, and how did she relate to Mia, Khalid and Omar?

"Babe, did you find something?"

"Yes, but, it doesn't make sense"

"Show me"

"Well according to the facial recognition program the woman we met has three names, non of which is Maria"

Ranger turned the laptop to look for himself and then looked up at me, yeah I think he was as confused as me. I sat at the laptop and put each of the three names into the search program and hit the button for it to start, more time to wait again.

"Let me take you out for breakfast, Ram's in charge here and Hector is sleeping, we'll give it an hour then we'll meet and decide what to do next, maybe by then the searches will have finished"

I could go with that, I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and headed for the door. He laughed at me as he caught up and then with an arm around my shoulder led me out to the jeep. We found a small café on the outskirts of a town, too early to be busy, but late enough for there to be plenty of food prepared. We had a typical German breakfast according to Ranger. There were different varieties of Brötchen (bread rolls), marmalade and jam, chocolate spread, cheeses, hams, salami, Schwarzwaelderschinken which apparently was Black Forest smoked ham and honey. I enjoyed the variety of tastes that were put together and had to have a try of everything, washed down with hot chocolate it was a good way to start the day.

"I enjoyed that, could we maybe have that when we get back?"

"I'm sure Ella would serve up anything you want to try"

That made me think, it had been so long since I felt I'd been home, where was home anymore, my apartment or the apartment on seven?

"Babe, where'd you go?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking that I haven't been in Trenton for so long I don't know where home is"

"Wherever you want it to be"

"Just feels strange that's all"

"Where would you like to live?"

"I don't know, well I do, but that depends doesn't it?"

"Babe where ever you live I'll be with you"

"It seems so weird that I've spent so much time away from Trenton"

"Do you miss it?"

I had to think about that, was there anything I missed about Trenton? No not really, Connie and Lula had moved on and my family, I know they maybe love me in their own way, sheesh, there's that expression again, but would I miss my mother nagging me and my father ignoring me. I'd miss Grandma but she was the only person.

"No, I don't think I do, I've not thought about being home at all, only about you"

"We'll talk about this later, let me get the men some breakfast then we'll get back"

As we drove back to the cabin I sat and really thought about what he'd asked. I felt like a nomad at the moment, and to honest I was all right with that. While Ram, Lester and Hector ate their breakfast Ranger took some food for Aden and I sat down again in front of the laptop. The searches had finished and now there was a pattern developing, all three names belonged to the same woman. They had the same birthday and very similar education, including attending the University in New York. Family was different for each of them so I started with the search that went back the furthest, reckoning that maybe this was who she started as. The name for her was Lydia Mayers, born in Boston to parents who were still alive, but the gem in the information was that she'd had a sister called Maria who'd died at the age of 22, she was 2 years older than Lydia. Okay back into the search with Maria Mayers; let's see what happened to her. The information soon came back, she'd died whilst giving birth to a baby daughter, she hadn't been married but Khalid was named on the birth certificate as the father. When I thought about the portrait I'm sure it was one of Lydia, yes for sisters they looked similar, did Omar know Lydia? That she was pretending to be Maria, this was getting more convoluted as it went on. Lydia had taken on the identity of her older sister and she'd been at same university as Maria, two years behind. I saved all the information from the searches as Ranger and the men came and sat down with me, time to start planning.

"Hector, anything on the trackers used?"

"Not ones that you can buy in the states, but I've managed to lock onto the signal they emit if they're in range"

"Santos you get anything more from Aden?"

"No, he's being really tight lipped, I think he was trying to milk two employers at the same time and ended up burnt, I have his mobile so if we want to set up a trap for Omar we could do that"

"Babe by the look on your face you've found something"

"The woman calling herself Maria is actually Lydia Mayers, Maria's younger sister. According to a death certificate Maria died in child birth but did name Khalid Hanbury as the father, which makes it Omar Hanbury, I still need to run a search on Omar Hanbury and then find out who the father is"

"I think we need to let you finish your searches then at least we may have better Intel on Omar if we're going to go after him, anyone any other suggestions?"

"I'll try to get Aden to give me information on where he normally meets him, at least which country"

We each went our own way, me back to the laptop, the men seemed to disappear outside, I wondered what that was about, were they thinking of something else to do that didn't include me? Nah, wer'e in Germany there was nothing they could do here. I set up the search on Omar, he couldn't have been much older than Khalid, but there was still something that was niggling me and it was centered on Lydia. I'd made the mistake of laying my head on my arms as I waited and was out for the count. It was the feel of soft kisses on my neck that made me aware that Ranger was with me. I smiled as his mouth moved across from my ear to my lips and without opening my eyes I looped an arm around his neck to deepen the kiss. I had so missed this in the last 24 hours, his touch, and his smell, as my breathing hitched I felt a need deep inside. He slowly pulled away kissing the tip of my nose.

"Babe don't play with fire, there's a forest out there we could get lost in"

Was I that desperate? Maybe but the thought went from my mind as the laptop began beeping.

"Sorry, work calls"

"Let me see what you've got"

We both started to read the information, I would focus on totally different things to him, like the fact that he'd gone to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I'd have a look at who he was there with. His mother had died when he was a teenager but his father was still alive another area to search, I wanted to find out why Lydia was living in Rayidh, was the father there as well?

"Babe I know you'll take a different route from me, I'll get a start on some of the property he owns and businesses he's involved with"

He went into the other room and came back with another laptop and sat down next to me. I liked that we were working together; it felt right, it made me feel closer to him. I was scouring through the photos from the years Omar was at university when I knew I was on to something, my leg was bouncing with anticipation when Rangers hand settled on my thigh, I didn't look at him because I knew I was close to seeing something important. It wasn't in a photograph as I imagined it would be, it was a mention of Omar being presented a technology prize by a benefactor of the university, and the reason it caught my eye was the name, Oliver Mayers. I quickly put that into the search and waited, I was high on nervous energy, he couldn't be Maria and Lydia's father because I'd read he worked as a hotel manager and he'd retired years ago, there were no brothers so was this man related, did Omar know him? As the photo of the man came on to the screen I froze, whilst sat staring at the screen I could see that man in the building, looking at Mia and shouting at me. He looked about fifty, but it was hard to tell, he was going bald, his light auburn hair stuck out all over the place. His face was narrow and he had the beginning of jowls under his jaw by his neck. It was his eyes that I remembered now and they were looking back at me from the screen, small cold grey eyes.

"Babe, look at me"

I was shaking now, but not from excitement of finding the man who seemed to haunt me, but from absolute fear. I felt myself being lifted and held, strong arms around me, a voice in my ear.

"Querida, shush, you're safe, it's only a memory"

I looked at him through tear filled eyes and pulled him closer, if that was possible.

"I found him, I remember him"

"Babe that's a good thing, now we know who we're up against and we can put an end to all this"

I knew he was right, it just seemed such an unreachable wish at the moment, and I knew he couldn't hurt me when I was with Ranger, but that didn't stop me from being afraid.

"Let's see who he is and how he fits into this"

He sat me on the couch and fetched my laptop; maybe the photo of him wasn't as scary as he'd been in my memory.

"Babe I'll read out what it says, tell me if something jumps out at you, okay?"

I nodded my head but really I was also reading the information as well. He was 45 years old, and he was Lydia's uncle, her fathers' younger brother. He'd had a successful engineering company that had gone into bankruptcy nine years ago, that was after Mia was born and when Khalid had died.

"What did his engineering company do to end up bankrupt?"

"Seems he was suspected of engineering parts for automatic rifles, but he was never charged with anything, then he was suddenly declared bankrupt"

"So if he was supplying Omar and Omar's father got wind of it and stopped the deal would those have caused him to lose his company and all his money?"

"Possibly, especially if he put his money into Omar's venture"

"So what next?"

"It says here that he's now an Entrepreneur"

"So Omar had the weapon and Oliver wanted to buy it? Sounds the wrong way round to me"

"What? You think that Oliver wants money in exchange for the device?"

"What device?"

Oh, he hadn't meant for that to slip out, but it had so he'd better tell me the truth. He closed his eyes, yep he was thinking of a way to talk himself out of this.

"Babe"

"Don't you Babe me, I have a right to know what the hell it is that they are selling and buying"

"I was told it was a small nuclear device"

"Shit, that's scary, that's humungous"

"Yeah and you haven't heard it, all right?"

"Heard what?"

"We need to get back to the states and get hold of Omar"

"Do you think Alex might know something?"

"Alex?"

"Yeah, Alexander Ramos, he's in that trade isn't he?"

"Maybe, but it could be dangerous just to go and ask him"

"Nah, he likes me"

Ranger just shook his head at me, but he knew I was right, Alex had a soft spot for me and I knew he respected Ranger even if sometimes they were on opposite sides. I didn't realize how late it had got until Lester came in carrying bags of food.

"Sorry Beautiful, I could only get hold of sandwiches"

We packed away everything after we ate, for some reason I wasn't overly hungry, maybe when we got back to the states I could splurge out and get meatball subs from Pinos. Two hours later we were back at the airfield at the end of the runway watching a large plane taxi toward us. When it stopped it wasn't the same pilot but Lester seemed to know him and we were soon on board. This time there were seats on the outside of the hold, with straps, and before I realized it we were trundling down the runway. It was bumpy and uncomfortable even lent against Ranger and I didn't feel well. I was fidgeting and had my head in my hands.

"Babe what's wrong?"

"Doesn't feel right, my nerves are all over the place"

"This is going to be a long flight, at least nine hours, get comfortable and see if you can sleep"

Sleep here? I undid the straps, stood up and found a blanket, the floor wasn't much better but I needed to calm myself down. The next thing I knew Ranger was beside me pulling me to him to lay my head on his chest, his arm under my head and my arm across his chest. Much better, at last I felt as though I could try to get some rest.

RPOV

Once settled Steph seemed to sleep, she was very restless but I didn't think she was dreaming. I was used to sleeping anywhere I had to so soon allowed myself to fall into a light sleep, at least enough to recharge my energy. What woke me was Steph trying to get up; she looked very pale and was shaking slightly.

"Babe how are you doing?"

"How long till we land?"

I looked at my watch and worked out how long we'd been in the air.

"About an hour"

"Something's wrong, my spidey senses are telling me there's real big trouble ahead, we have to get off the plane, something bad is about to happen"

I have always had the upmost respect for these feelings Steph gets and the fact that she was getting so agitated had me worried as well. I made to get up and she was suddenly looking right into my eyes and they told me she was scared shitless.

"Wait here, I'm going to talk with Santos and Ram"

I found the two of them further up the plane and had to wake Santos up.

"What do you know of the pilot?"

"Why, what's wrong?"

"Steph is positive there's danger when we land"

"He's flown me in and out from a few missions, Kendrick said he has a good reputation"

"Get the chutes out, we're leaving before this plane hits the ground"

"What about Aden?"

"We're taking him with us"

Santos and Ram got together what we would need, next was to make sure Hector distributed his gear between the two other men, I'd need to tandem Steph up to me. We worked in silence as straps were fastened and checked then made sure any gear we had to take with us was packed. Next I had to get Steph sorted out, I'd found a jump suit she could wear because it would be cold jumping from the height we were at.

"Babe, I know how accurate your spidey senses are so we're not going to land with the plane"

She looked at me, obviously confused, then saw the straps and parachute I had on.

"Put this on"

I handed her the jump suit, surprised when she did as I asked, in fact she was so quiet I was really beginning to worry. I looped another set of straps around her, between her legs and over her shoulders pulling them tightly to be sure they were secure. I'd jumped carrying more weight than Steph, but that weight didn't move about or panic. I turned her so her back was to my front and secured her to me.

"Babe, I would never put you in harms way, trust me with this. Keep your eyes and mouth closed all the time, I won't let go of you"

She nodded, but she was still too quiet.

"Babe. You're quiet, no questions?"

She shook her head and then turned it at the sound of the door opening. Cold air rushed into the hold, I folded her arms in front of her and lifted her to the edge of the door, I suppose the fact that it was still dark might be a good thing. Ram went first, then Hector and I fell forward out into the blackness, Santos was following behind me once he'd pushed Aden out. I felt Steph tense then relax, had she passed out? Maybe that would be a good thing; I'd just need to be more careful when we landed. I kept my eye on the altimeter and when I hit the height I needed I pulled on the chord to release the parachute. As I straightened out I wrapped my legs around her, her head tipped back toward me, leaning against my chest, her eyes were bright and she had a smile on her face, thank god for that, maybe now she really felt that she was flying. Ram had lit a flare to guide us to a safe spot to land and I maneuvered us to land where it was, gliding slowly and taking my legs back ready for the landing.

"Pull your legs up Babe, I'll take the landing"

She did as asked and we landed, me using a run to reduce the impact from the ground and Ram stopping us and holding Steph. I watched her as I undid the straps and set out about removing my own harness, Ram was stood in front of Steph trying hard to release hers. "Woman, will you keep still, I can't get this harness off if you keep bouncing up and down"

I looked down momentarily and was suddenly hit by a body throwing themselves at me; I tripped over the bag behind me and went backwards on to my back. When I opened my eyes there was a pair of bright blue ones staring at me. Shit was she going to have a go at me for making her jump out of the plane?

"I loved it, it was absolutely amazing, and I was flying. Can we do that again in the day time then I can see the view?"

Santos and Ram laughed at that outburst, I'm sure they weren't expecting that response from her either, only my Babe could surprise us like that. I sat up with her still straddling my waist and with my hands on her cheeks and kissed her, deeply and passionately, her body molding to my mine as she circled my neck with her arms.

"It's a promise"

"Err Beautiful, how about you put your fiancé down and let's get the hell out of here?"

She pulled away from me and pushed herself up onto her feet, allowing me to do the same.

"I'll let Tank know where we are and get him to leave someone by the airfield, I'd like to know if we were going to be ambushed"

Aden was now stood close to Santos, muttering to himself and holding his arm.

"What happened to him?"

"Aden? He thought he could do a runner, I landed on him when I hit the ground"

Santos laughed as he said it, pushing Aden in front of him. Santos was too good with a parachute to lose someone on the ground.

We rolled the chutes down and collected our bags making our way to the rendezvous point with Tank. We'd landed north east of New York, fortunately when we bailed out the plane was over land heading south into the base. As we walked through the trees toward Flat Rock Hill Road I was trying to work out where the best place was for us to go. As we reached the narrow lane headlights flashed from one of the two SUVs parked there, I made for the front one to see Tank in the drivers seat.

"I left Cal at the airfield, he's got Vince with a car as backup, so we'll see what happens when the plane lands, though it should be there by now"

"Santos take Aden and put him in a cell at Rangeman"

The others left in the second car leaving Steph and I with Tank, where I'd decided to go only Tank knew about and I hadn't been there for a while. Tank's phone buzzed and he switched it across to the speaker in the car. Steph had climbed in to the back and was now sat forward on the seat between Tank and I.

"Quite a performance when that plane landed. It was met at the end of the runway where Ranger would have got off and there must have been a platoon of men there, all with rifles ready to fire. There was this Colonel there who seemed to be in charge, he was pissed when they found the plane empty of passengers, shouting and bawling at everyone, so I guess Ranger missed a welcome home committee"

How Steph managed to intuitively know that there was danger was beyond my understanding, hell my instincts were good as was that of other soldiers but no one I had come across compared to her.

"Good call Babe"

"What, you mean you bailed because of Little Girl?"  
"She knew there'd be danger when we landed"

Steph sat back smiling, yeah she had reason to be proud of herself. I turned to Tank who had now moved the car to join the highway.

"Drop us off at the primary base"

"You sure?"

"What's the primary base?"

"You'll find out"

Steph sat back in her seat, she knew that I would tell her what I could at the moment, and that she'd find out more once we got there.

"Ranger you've not been there for awhile, you want me to drop off some supplies from Ella, and you know food and maybe clothes?"

"Yeah, it'll need a clean when we get there"

We travelled in silence for the rest of the journey; Steph wasn't asleep probably because she was keen to know where we were going. Tank took several detours making sure we weren't being followed and when he was confident we weren't he headed toward the primary base. I hit the fob on my key ring as we approached an old warehouse, the large wooden doors swinging out to reveal a parking area, as we cleared the entrance the doors automatically closed behind us. Tank parked the car and I helped Steph out from the back and then holding her hand in mine led her toward the wall at the back. To all intents and purposes it looked like we were inside an old warehouse, there were sheets over vehicles and old crates lying around, giving the look of being abandoned. My key fob opened a door hidden behind an old cabinet that in turn led into a small entranceway. There were two doors, but only one was a working door, I opened the first door and allowed Steph to walk through first.

"Ranger I'll head back and get those supplies, expect me back in about an hour"

Tank returned through to the garage area and I closed the two doors behind him. Steph was still stood where I'd left her.

"You can go in Babe, it probably needs a good clean, I haven't been here for a while"

"So what is this place?"

"It was where I lived and worked before I set up Rangeman on Haywood"

"Were you here when I met you then?"

"Yes, Tank came here for a while but then we found the building on Haywood and started to employ other men and I just moved in there"

"Why do you still keep this place then?"

"Not sure, maybe it's sentimental reasons"

Yeah, who was I kidding, I'd been here when Steph had phoned asking me to release her from her curtain rod, twice, because I didn't believe her the first time she called. I pushed her through to the kitchen, it was basic, but it had everything you needed to cook food with and a table and chairs. The cupboards were old wooden ones as was the table with wooden tops. The floor was linoleum that had seen better days but it did us well at the time.

"Babe I'm going to switch on the power and fire up the boiler for hot water, why don't you have a look round"

The windows in the entire apartment were at the top of the walls, at the time I thought that this gave some privacy and over time I'd had the glass replaced with mirrored bulletproof glass. As I moved through the kitchen I decided that maybe it wasn't in as bad condition as I had thought. I found Steph in the lounge looking at the books on the shelves, there was a diverse selection, from poetry to economics to computer science, she turned to me.

"This place tells me more about you than your apartment on seven"

"There's a lot of personal stuff here, I just never got round to deciding whether or not I wanted it at Rangeman"

"When were you last here?"

"During the Ramos affair, I hid out here"

She'd taken down a framed photograph from the shelf and was studying it, a frown on her face.

"That's one from the regiment I was in before I moved across to do the special ops work"

"Who's that?"

"He was our commanding officer at the time, he's the Colonel who's after getting his hands on you"  
"What's he called?"

Why was she suddenly interested in that, she hadn't met him and no one we'd come across had any connection to him.

"Babe, what's got your brain ticking over?"

"I don't know, there's just something about him"

"His name is Colonel Lexter"

She returned the photo to the shelf and then headed for the only other door exiting the room, the one that led to the bedroom. Again it was very utilitarian, a thread bear carpet, double bed and a bedside cabinet. Within this room was a closet and bathroom. She opened the closet door and was smiling as she touched some of the clothes hanging there, I lent against the doorframe watching her.

"You wore these when you came to my flat. Dressed in these normal clothes, I hardly recognized you"

"I think I'll be in need of them again, we need to keep a very low profile Babe, everyone will know I'm somewhere close and will be looking for me to find you"

"We'll work it out"

What was she thinking? There was definitely something going on in that head of hers. A buzzer sounded telling me there was someone coming into the garage so I left Steph to go and meet them. Tank was already inside when I got there loaded down with boxes.

"This is just food, there's more in the car"

I helped bring in the bags with even more stuff inside; Ella had gone overboard with what she'd sent. As soon as everything was inside the apartment Tank turned and headed out.

"Catch you up in the morning Ranger"

And he was gone. I switched the fridge and freezer on and put the food away, then took one of the meals Ella had sent to go in to the microwave, and prepared a salad to go with it. Steph came up to me and stood with her front to my back, her arms around my waist.

"I like it here, there's something about it that feels safe, and it feels like you"

"I own the whole building, we could always convert the rest of it"

"Maybe"

"Babe what's wrong?"

"Not sure, after we eat I want to do some more work on the people we've found out about, I think we're missing something, or someone important that ties it all together"

Steph thoroughly enjoyed the vegetable lasagne Ella had sent; she even indulged in having some salad. We cleared the dishes and as she washed I dried them and put them away. While we were in cleaning mode we made sure the kitchen and lounge area were

free from dust and then Steph tackled the bedroom while I went into the bathroom. I turned when I noticed her stood next to the door.

"What's got you smiling?"

"The last argument I had with Morelli was about who should clean the bathroom, he said it was my job because I was a woman"

"I take it you thought differently"

"Too right I did, the thing is we don't argue about stuff like that do we? We just work together and get it done"

"That's why we're good together, come on I'm sure I've got films you might like and we need to relax"

As we were going into the lounge my phone emitted an alert status. "Emergency at the Burhan house"

"Come on Babe, we need to go out"

We each found a coat and hat and headed through the doors to the garage, I pulled off the white sheet covering a black BMW and was getting into the drivers side when I realized Steph was still outside staring at the car.

"Babe, you need to get in"

She shook her head and slid into the seat, fastening her seat belt. I knew she was trying to work out why this car was here. I'd actually decided to store the car here so that Steph would have somewhere to park at Rangeman, I liked this car, and once we'd found it after it was stolen from when Steph had it I moved it here. It didn't fit in with the image I was looking for when developing Rangeman. Eventually she couldn't stay quiet any longer; I knew the question before she asked it.

"Is this the car that I lost?"

"Yes Babe"

"You found it?"

I just looked at her.

"Why didn't you tell me you got it back, and why's it in this garage?"

"It wasn't important and I decided you needed a car parking space at Rangeman so I moved it here"

"But that was years ago"

"So?"

At last she was lost for words, which was probably good since we were pulling up behind Tank. He got out of his car and walked to my side of the car, with the window down he leaned in to talk so both of us could hear.

"The house was raided about half an hour ago, team watching said it looked like a professional job so they kept out of the way. They were in and out in under ten minutes, all's quiet in there now"

"Oh god Mia"

Steph was out of the car before either one of us realized it, she'd already reached the front door when I literally lifted her off her feet, she was crying and struggling like mad to get away from me.

"Babe, god dammit, will you calm down. Tank and I will go in with you, we don't know how safe it is in there"

She seemed to hear what I was saying and I could see how much it took for her to get control of herself. Gun in hand, I opened the door slowly then stood to the side, when I was greeted with silence I pushed it open, again silence so as Tank moved to the left I pulled Steph behind me and went to the right. Tank cleared the rooms on the left while I took the rooms on the right, the first was empty but the second had the body of a man laid on his back. He had a single bullet hole through the middle of his forehead.

"Oh god that's Omar"

Steph knelt down and checked for a pulse, I think even she knew it was too late, she stood and looked around the room the portrait above the fireplace holding her gaze.

"It's exactly the same as the room where I first met him, the couches and tables, even the drapes and that's the portrait I saw"

We needed to move, the police could arrive any minute now and I didn't want to have to answer any of their stupid questions.

"Babe, let's see if we can find any sign of Mia"

She turned, the spell broken and headed out of the door toward the stairs.

"Her suite of rooms was the first door on the left"

Tank took up his position as I opened the door, nothing, so again I pushed the door open. The room was totally empty, no furniture and nothing to suggest that there had been any. We cleared the other three rooms on this floor; all were the same, totally empty. I could tell Steph was anxious and worried but there was nothing in the house to even suggesting that anyone else had lived here.

"Tank get Santos to help you check out the place then call in an anonymous call to the police, I need to get Steph out here"

"Will do, I'll send the feed from the car to you when we get sorted"

I led Steph from the house; she kept looking back as if someone might appear at a window. Once in the car I took twice as long to reach the primary base making sure we weren't being followed. She hadn't said a word and walked inside in silence, I found her on the bed, her head hanging over the end and a pillow over her face. She was deep into her thinking mode; I removed the pillow and cupped her face, placing small kisses on her forehead, nose and finally her lips. My heart was breaking for the sorrow she was experiencing, I didn't really understand how close she had got to Mia, but did now as I looked into a face that was grief stricken.

"Babe we'll find her, I promise"

"But what if she's already dead"

"Then we'll find out who did it"

I pulled her up and turned her so that her head was now at the right end of the bed and crawled next to her pulling her to me as I laid on my back.

"Who do you think killed Omar?"

"I don't know Babe, but we'll find out"

I felt her relax against me; we'd had a hell of a long day, what with the parachute jump and then the revelations at the house she was bound to be exhausted. Even as I removed her clothes she didn't stir, I slipped a T-shirt of mine over her head and pulled her arms through, I loved that she wore my clothes. Undressed I slipped into bed beside her and wrapped an arm around her as she snuggled into my side, this was how it was meant to be, and it didn't matter where we were as long as we were together.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter13

SPOV

I woke with Ranger holding me tight, whispering in Spanish to me, with a shudder I tried to shake away the images from my dreams. I opened my eyes to see warm brown eyes looking back at me.

"Babe, you want to tell me about your dreams?"

I must have woken him and now he wanted to hear what they'd been about.

"Babe, sometimes if you talk about it, it doesn't seem as scary"

"How do you know?"

"I've had them where they've been bad"

"Normally they go after a few days"  
"I know"

"It was a mixture of memories, faces, places and things that happened, then some things that seemed so insignificant, like when Marta measured me up for clothes and when I met Mia feeding the ducks at the park"

"Sometimes it's just your brain trying to make sense of things, how do you feel now?"

"Hungry"

Ranger left me in bed while he went to sort out breakfast; I needed a shower so went in to the bathroom. Thank you Ella, she'd sent all the things I needed, shower gel, though I used Rangers Bulgari, well it smelt so good, and so Ranger that I couldn't resist. I washed and conditioned my hair then shaved and moisturized. Now I could face the world, well I would do when I'd eaten. Waiting on the table was a plate with omelets and fresh orange juice, not my usual, but it tasted good all the same.

"Ranger, can we go to Deal today?"

"You still think Alex would talk to us?"

"Yes, and with someone killing Omar I think it's even more important that we try"

"I'll call now and see if he's there. Why don't you watch the cam feed Tank sent through?"

Cam feed? Oh yes from the house last night. The laptop was sat on the coffee table with the feed ready to run, I clicked on the run icon and watched. Because the camera in the car was static it only picked up what was directly in front of it but what it did pick up showed a highly organized group of men, all wearing black, scale the wall and disappear into the grounds of the house. A few minutes later there was the unmistakable sound of a single gunshot and then the men were coming through the gate and I presume back to their vehicles. They didn't have anyone with them so at least no one else was hurt and Mia hadn't been at the house, I wonder where she was?

"He'll see us in two hours Babe"

"I'd better go change and look the part"

I'd put on jeans and a T-shirt but decided that Alex would maybe be more agreeable if I dressed differently, I just hoped Ella had sent something that would work. Thirty minutes later I walked into the kitchen to find Ranger in in a black Armani suit, black shirt and open neck. Mmm, I definitely liked the way he looked and so did my hormones as I took a full look at him. His hair was slightly damp and hung loose touching the top of his shoulder; I licked my lips and moaned.

"Babe if you continue to look at me like that we could always stay"

His eyes wondered over me, moving from my head to my toes and back to my face.

"Babe he better not propose to you again, though the way you look any man would be tempted to"

I'd gone for sexy and sophisticated, well I hoped that was what I'd achieved. A dark blue wrap skirt that was knee high at the back but where it wrapped over at the front it revealed a large expanse of leg, and a pale blue cashmere sweater that had a deep V at the front. My hair was in loose curls, tamed and styled and my makeup was natural. To complete the effect I had worn black FMPs that had a matching dark blue ribbon round the ankle and held a dark blue bag in my hand. I walked past him into the garage and got into the BMW waiting for him to follow.

As we were driving I was suddenly conscious that we weren't in any disguise.

"People could see us"

"Tinted windows. What did you think of the footage?"

"Military"

He broke from his driving zone to look at me.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, they all had exactly the same outfits and the same boots and guns, then the way they didn't seem to communicate but moved their mouths means they had mikes and ear buds, and they used those hand signals that you and the guys use"

"Ex or current?"

"From what we saw they were really well planned so must have known where they were going and what they were going to do, but there was one person who seemed to be in charge, so I'd say current"

"Babe do you know something you're not telling me?"

"No, but I have a hunch, but it's a stupid hunch so until I know more I'm not saying anything"

"Babe you know I would never think of any of your hunches as being stupid"

"I know, but this is a bit far out, so you'll have to wait"

I wasn't going to tell him who I thought might be involved because I wasn't sure how he'd take it if I didn't have any proof or evidence, but something had come back to me in my weird dreams last night and I wanted to be sure. The rest of the drive was done in silence; I hope he wasn't mad at me, but then again he'd be madder if I was wrong. When we pulled through the gate of the house that Alex lived at I was pleased to see it was now painted white, it looked so much better. Ranger took his guns out of their holsters and put them in the lock box under the seat then opened the door. I jumped when mine opened and an elderly man took my hand to help me out. Ranger soon came to my aid and holding my hand we walked through the front door. Alex was waiting for us and immediately grasped me by the shoulders and kissed each of my cheeks.

"Stefani, did you bring the blue car?"

"No I'm sorry Alex, it's with my parents"

"No matter you are here. Come we'll sit out on the deck, it's such a beautiful day"

He led us from the entrance lobby through the lounge and out onto a decked area. The whole house felt like it should be on a Greek island. Marble floors, white walls and the color blue predominant in things like cushions and throws.

"You have a beautiful house, I like the white"

"It's taken me years to get rid of all that pink, I like the calming effect of white and blue, like your eyes my dear such a rich variety of hues"

As we sat I noticed three bodyguards were close by, all armed and all vigilant. A woman in the uniform of a maid brought out a tray of iced drinks.

"Thank you"

She smiled and spoke to Alex in a foreign language; he smiled at me as he replied to her. At that moment Ranger took my hand and placed it on his thigh, could Ranger understand what had been said? Alex laughed and turned to Ranger.

"You are laying claim to her in my house?"

"Yes Alex, I always will"

"But I'm sure she'd rather live with me on a beautiful Greek island away from all the smog around here"  
"Then I will take her to my island Alex, if that is what she wants"

"Ah to be young and rich eh Ranger?"

I was feeling nervous, I didn't want this to end up in a disagreement over me, I was still a little afraid of Alex.

"Alex, thank you for agreeing to see us, Ranger and I were hoping maybe you could help us"

"For you my love, anything, maybe not so much for him"

He laughed and immediately I felt the atmosphere change, he would help if he could I was sure of that. I decided it was probably best if I took the lead in how to sweet talk him.

"Alex I know you hold family very close to you and I'm really worried for a little girl who seems to caught up in the middle of a lot of trouble"

"I will always protect the innocent when I can, especially family, except of course that boy of mine who deserved everything he got"

"Alex have you heard of a man by the name of Omar Hanbury?"

"I know of him, why is he involved?"

"He was, he was murdered last night"

Alex actually looked shocked at that, and then he sighed.

"He was uncouth and dealt with anyone who would pay, word has it that he couldn't supply what he said he could, maybe a buyer got upset with him?"

"Maybe, but he had a nine year old niece living with him and I can't find her"

"Why are you mixed up with this?"

So I told him my story from being employed to look after Mia to the fall in the derelict building in Beirut, I didn't mention any names or anything to do with Lydia. He took my hand and kissed the top of it.

"My dear child you have been in so much danger, you do me proud that you are so strong and resilient, Ranger look after your woman she is a precious gem"

"I have and will continue to do so Alex"

"Good, good. That man Omar, I'm not sure where he obtained his merchandise, not the usual routes that most use and there were times a few years ago that the merchandise failed, didn't work due to faulty parts. I know he changed his supplier then and there was a lot of bad feelings going around. His new supplier, I don't know other than he dictated what Omar could sell, like the supply was dictating the demand. It has opened up many niches for others"

"What did he tend to supply?"

"Mainly ex army issued weapons but there was talk that he was getting more up to date equipment"

"You've not heard anything about the little girl?"

"No, I'm sorry, but I will ask around in the circles that you cannot"

"Thank you for giving us what you could Alex"

"My pleasure. Now Ranger how goes it with you, are the other bosses keeping to our agreements?"

"Yes, each boss is staying within their boundaries, so at the moment there's no threat of an open war for turf or goods"

"Good, good. Now if you'll excuse me I have an important call to make, if you want to ask anything please call, but I leave for warmer climates the day after tomorrow"

That was his polite way of dismissing us, but perhaps what he'd said fit in with the timeline for when Oliver Mayers went out of business and perhaps who his new supplier was. Ranger and I both stood and immediately one of the bodyguards came to us and escorted us from the house. In the car back to Trenton I was toying with the idea of telling Ranger my thoughts.

"I smell burning"

"I'm trying to decide whether to tell you what I think"

"What are you scared of?"

"That you'll be mad at me"

"Babe I wouldn't be mad at you, question you're reasoning maybe, but that's how we work best together isn't it?"

"Okay, can we stop and walk on the beach while I tell you?"

"Sure"

He swung the car down a side street and then onto another road, and before long the ocean was ahead of us. Once we'd parked I slipped off my shoes and walked barefooted from the car onto the sand. We walked hand in hand along the beach then sat down gazing out at the sea, with Ranger sat behind me, holding me against him, his knees bent on either side of my hips. This felt so good, we could sit and not feel the need to talk, and somehow we could know what the other was thinking.

"You know how I said I dreamt snippets of what had happened to me, some trivial, others awful and faces that I'd seen. Well when we were flying to Cairo I woke up and went to the galley to get something to eat and Omar was on his laptop talking to someone, I only got a brief glance at who it was, but I think it was your Colonel, you know Colonel Lexter"

I was waiting for him to shout at me or tell me I was being stupid and when it didn't happen I turned to look at him.

"I'm sorry, see I told you it was stupid"

"No Babe, don't ever say your ideas are stupid. In a way it makes sense"

"Oh?"

"He was determined to get hold of you, then when he couldn't Omar is killed, think about it, Omar could have told someone who he got his weapons from, plus what Alex said, ex army issue and new weapons on the market. Maybe it's a viable enough lead that we need to follow it"

I breathed a sigh of relief, he was taking me seriously, and he would follow it up. I continued to look at him and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Thank you"

"For what?"

"For taking my ideas seriously"

"I love you Babe and I will always take you seriously"

He deepened the kiss and I turned to straddle his hips, I could feel myself getting more and more turned on as our tongues dueled, exploring each other. With my head against his shoulder I laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"I feel like a randy teenager making out on the beach"

"I don't think making out here on the beach is such a good idea"

He stood up taking me with him, and then hand in hand we walked back along the beach to the car. Hell I didn't care who saw us.

He laughed and circled my waist.

"Out loud?"

"Yes, we have all the time in the world, there are a lot of memories to make and a lifetime to make them in"

When we got back to the base I showered, the making out on the beach had me feeling frustrated and I was almost tempted to make use of the shower spray, almost, not the time Stephanie, too much else to do and think about. I dried off and changed into joggers and a T-shirt, time to work and get some more answers, namely how did Omar meet up with the dear Colonel. In fact their ages weren't that close, well Omar would be maybe mid thirties.

"Ranger how old is the Colonel?"

He seemed to be working that one out while he was stood preparing some food; probably men didn't discuss their ages.

"I'd say he's probably ten or even fifteen years older than us, probably closer to fifteen"

That would make him ten to fifteen years older than Omar, how on earth could they have come across each other? Friends of parents didn't fit, they were all too old, and the Colonel had been too old to date Lydia, hell he'd been in the army. The army, I wonder where his tours were based?

"Can I do a search on the Colonel or will it raise alarms?"

"Raise alarms, all his army records would be confidential anyway"

I'd have to look in more detail at Omar now, dam this wasn't going to be easy, or maybe Khalid was the connection?

"Babe, time to eat"

Set out on the table were meatball subs, how had he got those, did I miss someone calling here?

"Ella sent all the ingredients and instructions on how to put them together, what do you think?"

"They taste different but better, she's added more spices to the meat, in fact I think they're better than Pinos"

We fell into a silence as we ate, me with my meatball subs and him with his tuna on rye bread. I wasn't really thinking about anything in particular but slowly my mind went back to all the people we'd come across.

"What're you going to do about Aden?"

"Santos told him what happened to Omar and suggested he needed to become invisible in case the killer was after him then let him go, Hector has a tracker in him, so we know where he's at"

"Well let's hope he stays out of our way"

"He will, so how can I help you?"

"I don't know, I'm stuck trying to tie in Omar with the Colonel, maybe I was wrong about him"

"I know you, you'll find something"

Yeah right, I wish I had his confidence. Once we'd tidied away the dishes I went through to the bedroom and laid down in my thinking position, I think Ranger decided I'd work things through better on my own. I thought of the friends I had and how I had met them, Lula was working the streets when I was looking for Morelli and Connie worked at the bonds office with Vinnie. I met Ranger through Connie and the rest of the Merry Men through him. Then there was Mooner and Dougie and the other FTAs I'd befriended through my work. Mary Lou, well I'd grown up with her, she was my age so we were in the same classes at school and lived close to each other. Did I know anyone who was in their forties or maybe fifty? Not really any I knew were friends of friends. Maybe that was it, the Colonel knew them through a friend of Omar's or Khalid, and since the Colonel had spent most of his life in the army then maybe I needed to find a friend of the brothers who had been in the army, maybe Ranger could help after all. I got up and wondered back into the lounge, he was on the phone, so I sat with my computer and put in Khalid into the search. I wonder if Facebook existed ten years ago, I know I'd only really used it in the last four years and mainly to find out about people. Interesting according to Google it had been going for fifteen years. I logged into my account and put in Khalid's name into the search, who knew there would be so many but luckily a photo came up with the names so I could discount most of them. There were two left that could be possibilities so I clicked onto it, nah, this Khalid was working in New York as a teacher. The second one looked like it might be the one, no photo though; the last post was dated over nine years ago. I made a note of the names he had as friends and any mutual friends, then I went into photos. This was definitely our Khalid because the last photo was of Maria, pregnant, and I didn't think she was the one in the portrait there was some resemblance but then there would be between sisters. Except I didn't look anything like Val, I wonder why? Maybe because of the bigger difference in our ages? I shook that line of thought from my head. Okay now to start looking for someone who had been in the army. After an hour I was feeling really fed up, maybe this was a stupid idea; I mean would a friend be dressed in his army uniform for a photo on Facebook? Come on girl; don't give up try Omar instead. He was easier to find but again hadn't posted anything for years, again I made a note of friends and went to the photos, again nothing obvious, so I went back to his list of friends and one by one I went into their pages. Most had their privacy setting set up high but eventually I found a friend who had been in the army. Jenson Pierce, he was the same age as Omar and had been in the same year as him at university but then left after a year to join the army. I needed to talk with Ranger, he might know of him. I got up and started to look around, he wasn't in the kitchen or the bedroom, maybe the bathroom I hadn't checked in there, maybe he was having a shower? Empty like everywhere else, the silence was almost deafening and for some reason I was starting to panic. The only place I hadn't looked was the garage. As I walked into the garage I realized it was dark and empty, he'd left me on my own, why would he do that without telling me?

"Ranger, where are you"

There was no reply and I didn't know what to do next. I turned to go back into the apartment and realized the door had closed, shit I didn't have a fob to open it with or a phone to call him or anyone else, what if someone found me, discovered where this place was, they could have followed Tank here. I needed to hide somewhere, where no one would find me, yeah inside a car that was under a sheet that would be a good place. Quietly I crept into the garage and lifted the side of a sheet from a car, oh wow, a 1965 Race Prepped Mustang in black and it was open. Carefully I climbed in and closed the door behind me, mindful that it didn't get the sheet trapped then climbed between the seats into the back and pulled the blanket in there over me.

RPOV

I left Steph to do her thing, she'd ask for my help when she was ready. I'd spoken to Tank who had no idea where Oliver Mayers was, he'd disappeared about nine months ago and there was no trail to follow. I was in the area above the apartment looking around and thinking about what Steph had said about living here. It was a big space that I'd never used; it only served to conceal what else was in the building. Looking at my watch I realized how time had flown, yeah, I was so preoccupied with thinking about my future with Steph. I climbed down the ladder that I'd used to get through the hatchway with and secured the hatch before putting the ladder back where it belonged. This small room was where we'd first kept our weapons in a large floor safe, the safe was gone but the memories were still there. As I went into the kitchen it was dark, in fact there were no lights on anywhere, maybe Steph was asleep? I checked out every room in the apartment and couldn't find her, her laptop and papers were still scattered around the lounge, but where was she? I didn't think she could go out because I'd never given her a fob. I searched every room again this time looking in any space she could be, nothing. I'd have known if someone had come in, the alarms were still set. Shit how could I lose her?

"Babe, where are you?"

The last place I searched was the garage, the lights were out but I'm sure the dustsheet on the Mustang had been moved; grabbing a torch I slowly pulled up the cover and shone the beam inside. I could feel her close and there in the back seat curled up fast asleep was my Babe. Why was she here? I couldn't get her out without waking her, so I removed the sheet, opened the door and pushing the front seat forward crawled in beside her. It felt so good to hold her in my arms even though she hadn't really gone missing I had never felt so lost when I couldn't find her, I had to protect her so as never to lose her. She stirred beside me, I was sure she'd just realized I was here.

"Where were you?"

"Upstairs"

"I couldn't find you and I panicked"

"Oh god Babe I'm sorry, I should have told you where I was going, but you were so engrossed I didn't want to disturb you"

"You're here now"

"I panicked when I couldn't find you as well"

"Good, maybe next time you'll clue me in as to what you're up to"

"How did you get on with finding something?"

"I found a friend of Omar's who was in the army"

"What was his name?"

"Jenson Pierce"

"Let me check with the men at Rangeman, maybe one of them knows of him"

In fact the name sounded familiar, I just couldn't remember where from.

"How would you like to go see them?"

"Can we?"

"Yeah, I'll set it up with Tank"

She needed to get out of here for a while and have a break from working. I climbed out first and helped her out before replacing the cover.

"I like the car, is it yours?"

"Yeah, my first car that I did up before going into the army. My parents kept her for me and I moved her here, haven't fired her up in a long time"

"It's a beautiful car"

"Go get changed while I call Tank"

"Tank can you have someone meet us so that they can bring us into Rangeman?"

"I'll get Cal on it, where?"

"The car park behind the AMC Hamilton, we'll be there in an hour and I can park my car there without it being suspicious"

Steph had changed into jeans and a T-shirt, I gave her a jacket and hat to put on and then we were on our way. I know Steph thinks I go into my zone when I drive but I needed to be aware of the traffic around us and make sure we didn't have a tail. I parked next to the black Cayenne and moved quickly from my door to Stephs, no one was about so I opened her door and bundled both of us into the back seat, dropping to the floor and pulling her with me so that it didn't look like there were any passengers inside. The ride to Rangeman was done in silence and we were there soon enough, Tank met us and we travelled up to five. I couldn't decide if Steph was nervous or excited, she was quiet, which was something that I'd noticed since her adventure in the Middle East, at one time she'd be non-stop chat. Once in the conference room she relaxed and hugged each man asking how they were and what they were up to. I had moved over to the boards where Tank had put together all the information we had to date. Steph stepped beside me and started to look as well.

"When you see it in one place it looks a lot"

"I know, but then we have to tie the ends together Babe, or in your case find the thread"

I turned and sat at the head of the table, Tank on my right and Steph on my left. The men took notice and soon everyone was seated and silent.

"Do any of you know Jenson Pierce?"

"You know him Ranger"

I turned to Santos waiting for him to say more, how did I know him?

"He was the co pilot on that last plane we hitched a lift with"  
"How did we end up with him and not Kendrick?"

"Kendrick was on his way out of the states so passed it to him"

"Shit"

Everyone looked at Steph, she didn't normally swear in front of the men.

"Beautiful, what's wrong?"

"He's the one who told Lexter we were on the plane and he's the connection to Omar Hanbury"

"That's stupid, he was the one who called us in Ranger"

"He was, but do you remember the conversation he had with us Santos?"

"He was only interested in the buyer and finding the device"

"And all communication was to go through him directly"

"Why's he so keen to get hold of Steph?"

"He says that she can identify the buyer, but maybe he's worried she knows more, look what happened to Omar"

Tank stood up and walked over to the board where stills from the camera feed had been pinned up.

"That job was done by professionals, I asked around some of the men who work with mercenary groups and no one knows anything. Are you saying it was a black ops team?"

"Both Steph and I are tending to think that"

"Babe why don't you tell everyone what you know so far and maybe what you think?"

"Khalid and Omar were brothers and Omar got into the weapons selling, somehow Khalid was killed. Khalid's girlfriend, Maria, had a little girl, Mia, but then died during childbirth. Mia was with Omar which is how I got involved. Lydia is Maria's younger sister but is masquerading as being Maria. So I think that Lexter has been supplying arms to Omar for about nine years, which is when Oliver Mayers, who made parts for arms, went bankrupt. Ranger and I spoke with Alex Ramos and he confirmed that Omar supplied mainly ex army issued weapons but there was talk that he was getting more up to date equipment. Jenson Pierce is a friend of Omar's and he probably introduced them"

"Shit Beautiful, so we know who everyone is, what's the plan now?"

I took control of the meeting because somehow we had to be prepared and plan for everything, somewhere out there was a nuclear device that had to be found.

"Find Oliver Mayers, find that device and get enough evidence to take down a Colonel"

"I need to find Mia and work out what Lydia is up to"

"I agree Babe. Tank where are you with Mayers?"

"Disappeared nine months ago"

"No leads?"

"Absolutely nothing"

"Babe do you want to see if you can find a thread?"

She nodded at me, if anyone could find him she could; she was one of the best researchers I'd come across.

"Santos can you get in close with the Colonel"  
"Oh you mean say how pissed off I am with you and bored? Yeah I can do that"

"Tank we need someone on the inside in Riyadh with this Lydia woman, who would you suggest?"

"I'll do it"

We all turned and looked at Bobby, could we manage without him?

"Ranger I'll charm her and get all the information you need"

Why not? He was probably the most talkative of the men here and he knew how to sweet-talk anyone. I nodded to him.

"Tank is there still a warrant out on Steph?"

"Yes, and we still get the occasional visit from TPD, namely Morelli. I think the contract has gone cold though"

"Tank talk with Eddie at TPD and find out what this warrant is about"

"Hector go out on the street and see if there's still a contract out on Steph"

"Ranger can Hector set up my laptop to maybe pick up one of those trackers I had in case Mia has one?"

Hector nodded at us, I knew he was always keeping an eye out for it in case it came into range.

"Maybe set Bobby up as well in case she's in Riyadh, Vince can you look into what these devices might look like, size and potential damage?"

"Will do boss"

"Anything else?"

No one had anything to say but Santos stood up and waited for everyone to look at him.

"I'd like to congratulate Steph and Ranger on their engagement, and once this is over we'll party in style"

There were cheers and one by one the men went to Steph for a hug and then came to me.

"Congrats Little Girl"

"About time Primo"

"Really pleased for you"

I stopped hearing the comments as I looked toward my Babe, almost instinctively she turned and looked at me, for some reason the longer we were together the more sensitive we became to each other. I'd always been skeptical when she would touch her neck and say she knew I was there but now I could feel it as well, feel when she was in trouble or close by. The men slowly left the room leaving us alone, she had tears in her eyes which confused me'

"Babe, why the tears?"

"Happy tears, they were all so kind and genuine with what they said"

We stood with our arms around each other savoring the closeness and for me the feeling that this felt so right, the door banging open had Steph jumping and me almost going for my gun until I saw Ella descend upon us, hugging us both.

"Oh I am so pleased to hear the news, congratulations"

"Thank you Ella"

"Are you staying or are you still in hiding?"

"We'll need to go Ella"

"I have something for you take then"

She disappeared and was back within minutes carrying a small white box; she presented it to Steph who looked at her astonished.

"Just a little something for you my dear"

I stood behind Steph with my arms around her stomach, looking over her shoulder, curious as to what was in the box.

"Cake, Ella you made us a cake?"

Steph was overjoyed and bent forward to kiss Ella on the cheek, I must admit even I was smiling, anything that lit up my Babes face was okay with me, even if it was cake. After saying goodbye to everyone we were eventually in the Cayenne with Cal. Again I made sure we were in the foot well so as not to be seen and Cal was taking evasive maneuvers to ensure he wasn't being followed. It was quite late when we reached the car park and Steph was dozing, I was amazed she managed to fall asleep, because she can't have been comfortable. I eased out through the door leaving her in the car and tried to scan the area, for some reason some of the lights weren't working which made me uncomfortable. Cal was doing the same; he was on high alert as well.

"Ranger, I don't like this, get back in the car"

As I turned to open the door we were suddenly lit up by bright lights and two cars came screeching into the lot, one stopping at the front of the Cayenne and the other behind it, effectively blocking us in. My hand was on my gun but I didn't draw it because the cars were police cars. A third car, a beat up POS, drove in and stopped beside us. Morelli, the bastard had managed to find us. I hit the panic button on my key fob hoping someone would respond in time.

"Ranger put your hands on the roof, legs apart"

Having five guns drawn and aimed at me I had no choice but to comply, but I was livid, how the hell had he found us when we'd been so careful? Another officer body searched me and took my gun from my waist, he missed the one in the ankle holster; maybe I could get to use it. Another officer was doing the same to Cal on the opposite side of the car roof, I shook my head and he'd know that was my sign not to do anything rash. By now Morelli had the back door open and was looking inside.

"Come on Cupcake I'm taking you in, there's an arrest warrant out for you"

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out, I was ready to bury that bastard six feet under, but when she stumbled, falling away from him the back of his hand swung across her cheek so hard her head banged on to the side of the car. I moved toward her and the last thing I remember was an excruciating pain at the back of my head.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

SPOV

Everything was a blur, my cheek and head hurt, I remembered being dragged from the Cayenne by Morelli, but I was still half asleep when I stumbled. Who had hit me, was it Morelli? Why was he being so nasty to me? I'd done nothing to provoke him. I could hear voices coming from in front of me and opening my eyes slightly realized I was in the back of a police car.

"You didn't have to hit her Morelli, she was half asleep, and that's why she stumbled"

"I don't give a shit Eddie, she deserved it"

"Why Morelli, tell me why you think she deserved to be hit so hard, how are you going to explain that to the chief?"

"She shouldn't be with him"

"But he keeps her safe"

"Yeah and the rest"  
"Morelli she packed in with you months ago, she doesn't belong to you"

"Well I say she does"

"She won't come anywhere near you now"  
"You gonna tell her what happened?"

"Yes, and why knock out Ranger?"

"He's dangerous, he was going to attack me"

"No he was going to help Steph. You've gone too far this time"

They both went quiet as the car came to a stop and I heard the two front doors open and close then I was being pulled from the rear seat.

"Morelli, leave her be, I'll take her down while you book her in"

"Steph, Steph honey, can you hear me?"

Eddie, he was with me now. I slowly opened my eyes, the light assaulting my eyes and making the pain in my head return.

"I'm going to take you down to the cells Steph, I'm sorry honey, he shouldn't have hurt you. I'll do my best to keep him away from you"

Eddie supported me as we walked through the back door of the precinct and down a corridor toward where the cells were, my hands were cuffed behind me and I could feel the metal digging into my wrists, the bastard had fastened them tight on purpose.

"We're not arresting you Steph just holding you until someone comes to collect you so you're going to stay in your own clothes and there won't be a body search, okay?"

I nodded; I suppose I should be grateful for that at least. After removing the cuffs Eddie led me to the cot attached to the wall and helped me to lie down; I really didn't feel all that good. Oh god what happened to Ranger? He would be so mad, at Morelli and probably himself.

"Eddie how did he find me?"

"He saw the black BMW and recognized it as the one you had stolen from you, so I guess he assumed Ranger might be driving it around, not sure how he knew you were with him though"

I heard the door clunk open and then shut and the lock engage.

"Steph do you need anything?"

I didn't answer; yes I wanted to be out of here preferably curled up with Ranger.

"She needs a body search and put in a suit"

"No Morelli she doesn't, she isn't being arrested just being held until the suits or whoever pick her up"

"Well I'm going in"

"Not without me there you're not"

"She'll have trackers on her, they need to be removed"

The door opened and I heard footsteps approach me.

"Sit her up Eddie"

"She's not well Morelli, we should get a doctor to look her over"

"Nah, the suits can sort her out. Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

I felt his hands pawing at my neck and realized he had removed my locket.

"Nice, shame it'll get lost. And look here, a ring. You little bitch, you wouldn't accept one from me but you're wearing his? I don't think so"

He roughly pulled my ring from my finger then started to feel around my rib cage, was he trying to maul me? His hands kept going, down my stomach and started to push inside the front of my jeans. I wriggled and tried to move away but I had nowhere to go.

"Morelli get your hands off her"

A very loud, very annoyed voice shouted out and immediately the hands were removed.

"Sorry chief just checking she didn't have any weapons on her"

"Out, the pair of you. The suits are on their way"

Please don't let it be Lexter or his goons; they'll kill me, especially if he thinks I know something. There was silence now, everyone had gone and left me alone. I opened my eyes to look around, yeah just like I thought, grey walls and a concrete floor, a metal toilet and sink in the corner bolted to the floor. The bed I was on was just a dirty mattress again probably bolted down. There was a light outside the cell in the corridor and the place was eerily quiet. I would have thought there would be other prisoners down here, at least I had a cell to myself, I'd brought too many people here as FTAs for me to be safe with any of them. I must have dozed again because the next thing I knew I was being lifted and carried by a large man wearing army fatigues. He set me down outside the cell and handcuffed my hands in front of me and then used a set to cuff me to him. I looked from the floor and the pair of black boots to a uniform, was this Colonel Lexter? It certainly looked like the uniform a Colonel would wear, dark blue lots of medals and ribbons adorning his chest but when I got to his face it was one I hadn't seen before, in fact if he was a Colonel he had a kind face with brown eyes and white hair showing below the peaked hat that he wore. His skin was dark and he had a face that showed his age, wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. He nodded to the man stood next to me who used the arm cuffed to me to hold me under my elbow.

"Chief why is she hurt?"

"One of my officers got carried away during her arrest"  
"Was she violent?"

"Err, I'm not sure of the details"

"Then I would hope you'd carry out an investigation into the incident and reprimand the officer"

"Of course, I'm surprised you got here so fast"

"We were in the area. Thank you chief"

With that he turned and walked out of the corridor and through the door, we followed and I was corralled inside a wall of uniform out to black cars parked outside. There must have been at least seven men with me, what did they expect that I could fight them all off? I was seated in the back between two soldiers, the Colonel in the front and another soldier driving. The car left the car park followed by another one carrying the rest of the soldiers. As we joined the main road I rested my head on my captor, it hurt and I was beginning to feel dizzy and ill again, with my eyes closed I decided I really didn't care where we were going, all I knew was that I was being taken away again and taken away from Ranger. I wondered what he was doing at this moment, had he resigned himself to the fact that the Colonel now had me and that there was nothing he could do? Or was he planning a daring escape to get me out. I wanted him here with me, to hold me and tell me everything was going to be all right. I wasn't really fully conscious of what was happening to me, at one stage I was sure I was carried into another vehicle, maybe twice!

What really had me shocked was when I became aware of being warm and comfy, snuggled on something soft with covers over me. If this was the Colonels idea of prison I wasn't going to complain. It was a voice that made me take more notice, a voice I hadn't heard in such a long time. Maybe I was dreaming, but that voice just wouldn't stop.

"When's she going to wake up?"

"When she's ready"

"But it's been a day already"

"You can't rush these things"  
"But I want her to wake up"

It couldn't be her could it? I slowly opened my eyes and saw the most beautiful sight, Mia had her head on a pillow next to me, looking at me, watching me.  
"Steph you're awake"

"Mia?"

"Yes, I'm here with you"

"Mia, how?"

"Jid, he brought you here"

"Jid?"

"My Grandfather"

"Where are we Carino?"

"In Jid's house"

"But where in the world is that Mia"

I sounded annoyed and that wasn't how I wanted to come across, none of this was Mia's fault, but for some reason I couldn't understand why her Grandfather was with Mia and why I was here as well.

"I'm sorry Mia, I didn't mean to get annoyed with you"

"Mia why don't you go and get your friend some water, I'm sure she's thirsty"

I slowly sat up in the bed and lent against the bedhead, it was a beautiful room, large with a couch and table. Tall windows with drapes billowing from a breeze emphasized the size of the room and there were three doors that led out of it. It felt warm even though a ceiling fan was turning above me.

"Miss Plum, my name is Hanbury, Tariq Hanbury. I am Mia's Grandfather and you are here as a guest of myself and Mia"

"Mr. Hanbury, please call me Steph. I don't understand why I'm here or where here is"

"I will explain everything when you have eaten and dressed, you were not very well when we rescued you from that police station, a head injury made you quite ill, so once I'm sure you are better then I will explain everything to you"

"Mr. Hanbury"

"Tariq, please"

"Tariq, my fiancé will be desperate to find me, would it be possible to talk to him and let him know I'm okay"

"When we talk Steph"

Mia returned with a bottle of water and some tablets for me, I looked at her, really looked at her. She looked healthy and seemed to be happy, she was chatty and obviously could move around the house.

"What are you thinking Steph, you've that funny look"

"Are you happy here, you know, doing what you want to do?"

"Oh yes, Jid is really kind to me and he does things with me, we went swimming yesterday and he built a ginormous sand castle"

"Wow, that sounds like an adventure"

"He found you for me because I knew you'd be in danger and brought you here"

"Well then how about I get up and you can show me around"

"You shower and I'll get Marta to bring us something to eat"

"Marta is here?"

"Yes, she came with me"

I put my legs over the side of the bed and slowly eased myself onto my feet, that felt okay, no dizziness but my head still ached, so I went over to one of the doors, a closet with a few womens clothing inside. The next one was the bathroom, a large room with brown marble on the floor and on the top of a vanity unit, white sink, toilet, tub and shower. A large window was open and I took the time to look out. There was a manicured lawn leading to woods with a play area in the middle, there was a slide and swing and one of those ropes that you can balance on, and it all looked new. The shower was hot and welcome, I used the soap and shampoo on the shelf then wrapped a large brown towel around me. Stepping out of the bathroom I was suddenly embraced by Marta.

"Oh Steph I am so pleased to see you and that you are up and about. There's lunch outside on the balcony when you're dressed. There are clothes on the bed for you"

Then she was gone leaving Mia grinning at me.

"I chose your clothes"

"Did you now, so what am I wearing today?"

"A sundress of course"

Well at least we were somewhere warm, even if I didn't know where I was. I dressed and followed Mia through the doors onto the balcony and stood at the rail looking out at the view. My favorite place, by the sea with a beach of yellow sand leading down to the blue water, small waves rippling along the stretch of sand. I sat down next to Mia and looking at the choice in front of me decided on cold meats and salad. Yeah all right, not really what I would eat but my stomach was still feeling a bit tender and I didn't want to over eat and then regret it.

"Jid said I have to wait to tell you anything, so please don't ask"

"Fair enough. So do you have a tutor like before?"

"No, Jid says I have to go to school, it's just down the lane and I've made new friends here, we often play together. Jid says it's better for me to get to know other kids my age"

"I think it's a good idea as well. Do you like school, you know the teachers and the lessons?"

"Yes but I have to wear a uniform"

We chatted about what she did at school and the friends she had made, when we'd finished eating I piled the dishes on the tray.

"Come on then let's go find Jid and then I can tell you what's happened to me since we"

"It's oaky Carino, we're here now"

I could tell she was upset from the night when we'd been separated in Beirut. We walked down a staircase into a large lounge area to find Tariq sat on one of the pale grey couches.

"You look much better, have you eaten?"

"Yes thank you"

"Then I suppose you want to hear Mia's story?"

I nodded and watched as Mia went and sat on her Grandfathers lap, she turned to me and with a serious face started to tell me her story.

"We left Beirut without you, he said Bruce was going to take you home, so I went with him. We went on an airplane and came back to Washington, and then he left me at a house with Marta and some men. I never really saw much of him and when I did he was always angry. Then he said I had to go live with someone else, that I'd like it better, he said he wasn't my father and that my real father was dead so I was an orphan. He didn't want me around anymore. That's when Jid came and he brought me and Marta here and explained who he was"

"I'm so sorry Mia that he wasn't who you thought he was, but I'd say you are really lucky to have found your Grandfather"

"I knew he never really liked me but it still makes me sad, except I'm happier than I've ever been before especially now that we found you"

What do you say to a child who lost everything they knew and woke up in a different life?

"Mia you are a remarkable little girl, strong, resilient and I know you're happy here"

"Mia why don't you go and see if Anna is playing out this afternoon?"

"You just want to talk Steph on your own"

"Yes I would, be back by five please"

We both watched as she ran from the room then I turned to see a serious look on his face as he looked at me.

"I haven't always been the best role model for a family, but who would have guessed I'd end up with a Granddaughter. I was more interested in making money when my boys were young, I missed them growing up, and then when they were grown up we didn't always agree on anything. Khalid was determined to go to America to study and in the end it was easier just to let him go. Omar was working with me in the family business. Then Khalid tells me his girlfriend is pregnant and he wants to marry her, Omar went mad and said she was just a gold digger and they ended up arguing. When Khalid came home he discovered that Omar had been using my business to start dealing in weapons. Then not long after that Khalid was dead, the police said it was a mugging but nothing was ever found. I didn't know that Mia had been born or that her mother had died, instead I shut my business down and left; just went from country to country. I didn't care what Omar did, I wasn't interested, and I'd lost my Khalid. A week ago Omar found me and pleaded to talk with me, it had been so long since we'd parted ways so I decided to see him. He was scared, he said someone was out to get him, that I had to take Mia and look after her"

"Did he say why he had Mia?"

"He said that he thought he might have been the father, he'd slept with a girl called Mayers, same looks about her as Khalid's girl, but he had a DNA test done, not his, but by then he was already looking after her and he felt he owed it to Khalid"

"Did you know that Mia's got an aunt who's pretending to be Mia's mother?"

"No, maybe that was who Omar slept with"

"Did Omar say who was after him?"

"A Colonel in the army who was supplying him with weapons to sell on, this Colonel sold Omar a device that wasn't what he said it was and the Colonel wanted it back, said that he could get caught if anyone found it"

"So what happened to this device?"

"Omar sold it, to some American"

"Why did you rescue me?"

"Because Mia asked me to and when she told me her story of what had happened to her, how you helped her and protected her and how the both of you got caught up in his fiasco, I knew I had to try and put it right"

"What do we do now?"

"I know Omar was murdered and I think it was this Colonel, we need to take him down"

"What about the American, because I think he is Oliver Mayers"

"Oliver Mayers. I know that name, he was one of those business associates that Omar had when I closed the business down. Are you telling me that he's related to the women my boys were involved with?"

"Yes, he's their uncle, but he went bankrupt, he lost everything nine years ago"

"Do you know what he wanted the device for?"

"A target? Maybe you?"

"For making him bankrupt?"

"Bankruptcy, two nieces rejected by you?"

"We need to work out where that other sister fits in, maybe she's working with him"

"Tariq I have someone who will be desperately worried about me, he's a good man, he'll help sort this out, please let me call him"

"Give me his number and I'll get a message to him, the Colonel will be really pissed off at the moment since he lost you again"

"Do you know why he's after me?"

"Maybe he thinks Omar told you about him and who the buyer is"

"Nah, I worked those out myself"

I gave him the number for Rangeman and went outside onto the beach to wait. I still didn't know where I was, how stupid was I for not asking. I trusted Tariq though for some insane reason it seemed he wanted some sort of redemption for his sons and he'd found it in Mia.

RPOV

I was laid out on the bed in seven with the mother of all headaches, what the hell had happened? Babe, where was she? Shit this was the second time I'd been knocked out and both times my Babe had been taken from me. I remembered being in the car park and that we were transferring back to the BMW. Morelli, he was what had happened. I sat up quickly regretting the sudden move when a pain shot through my head, dam the pain, I needed to find Steph. I showered to help clear my head and came out of the bathroom to find Tank sat on the bed.

"How's the head?"

"Sore. What do we have?"

"Morelli was the ass that took her in, Cal said he hit her hard, enough that she was dazed. Then he used his gun on your head, you've been out for a couple of hours"

"Steph?"

"They took her to the station and kept her in one of the old cells, Eddie's been in touch to keep me up to date"

"I need to get down there"

"Thought you'd say that, Morelli's already called it in to whoever set the warrant up so we may not have long"

"Who's down there?"

"Ram and Cal"

"Let's go"

As we'd been talking I'd put on cargos, a black long sleeved T-shirt and suited up with two guns and two knives, the gun taken from me at the car park was on the bedside table, I looked at Tank raising one eyebrow.

"Cal got it back from Eddie"

We were out of the building and on the road in less than five minutes when a voice came over the speaker, Ram was reporting in.

"Two cars and army soldiers just arrived"

I looked at Tank who floored the gas pedal; we had to be there to stop them.

"They've got Steph and are taking her to the lead car"

"Ram which road are they taking?"

"South"

"Follow, we'll pick you up, relay your position"

Tank changed lanes to get us onto the road the cars were travelling on but their position kept changing, the bastards were using diversion tactics to throw off any tails.

"Ranger they've split up, we're following the lead car."

We finally caught up with Ram and Cal and could see the lead car ahead, when it pulled into a parking space on the street they drove ahead of it and stopped and Tank pulled up behind. An old man exited the car then opened the back door for two teenagers to get out. I got out of the car and walked up to the black car and looked in, empty. Shit how had we lost them? How the hell did we end up following the wrong vehicle? I returned to our Cayenne and climbed in not saying a word.

"How the fuck could they lose them?"

"Tank let's go back to the station, maybe it was a decoy"

We headed back the way we'd come in case we caught sight of the other vehicle and parked outside the back entrance. There seemed to be a lot of commotion going on inside, Eddie came out laughing and before we could get out he got in.

"Ranger I don't know how you did it but it was brilliant"

"What am I supposed to have done Eddie?"

"Got Steph out"

"Eddie, are you telling me someone walked into a police station and walked out with Steph?"

"Err, yeah, you mean it wasn't you?"

"No"

"Shit, they sure looked the part, the chief just let them take her"

"Eddie what's going on in there now?"

"The real Colonel turned up and of course she's not there"

"Who the fuck took her?"

"No idea but whoever was acting as the Colonel was old, white hair and a dark complexion, all the uniforms looked authentic"

"Eddie can you send Tank a copy of the camera footage and keep us posted"

"No problem, err Ranger do you know Morelli took her locket and ring?"

"Did he now. He on duty?"

"No"

Eddie took the hint from my silence that it was time for him to leave, I wanted to vent some rage and could only see Morelli, he was the reason I'd lost Steph, why was he so angry at her? Why did he want her hurt? I'd get that information from him.

"We going to visit Morelli?"

I nodded, Tank knew me too well sometimes. His POS was sat outside the house, that house that he'd inherited from his aunt; it still looked the same inside, except for the pool table. Why had Steph gone back to him, shit it was probably because of me, I'd even told her to patch things up with him after that first night with her? I must have been mad to keep pushing her away, I'd told myself she was too good for me, that I couldn't commit when right from the start I'd already started to. I couldn't keep away from her, I craved her like a drug, and now that bastard in there who swore he loved her had made his last mistake. We both exited the car at the same time, there weren't any pleasantries involved, I kicked the door in and walked into the lounge where Morelli was slouched on the couch drinking a beer.

"Thought you'd show up Ranger"

"I want two things from you Morelli, then you can explain why"

"And what would those be?"

"A locket and a ring"

"Why would I have them?"

"Because you took them off her"

"They didn't belong on her"

"That's her choice not yours"

"What the hell did you get her involved in?"

"I didn't, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time"

"She said it was a safe job, god dammit, why does she get herself into so much trouble?"

"That's who she is Morelli, and you can't change her"

"I was so fucking annoyed at her, I thought if this Colonel picked her up it might knock some sense into her, frighten her to conform"

"Not going to happen, the pieces Morelli"

"Here take them"

He threw them down on the table and I picked them up and put them in my pocket, then tightened my hand into a fist and punched him in the face, he crumpled but didn't retaliate, instead he stayed on the floor and looked at me.

"I deserved that, I lashed out at her in anger, I love her Ranger, but we're not good together. But you, I see how you look at her and how she looks at you. You're good for each other, so if you want to beat the crap out of me go ahead, I deserve it"

I listened to what he said and could almost empathize with him; he really had loved her but not who she was who he wanted her to be. I turned and walked out the house and got back into the car.

"Rangeman?"

"Yeah, I need to find out who took Steph and where she is"

"Eddie sent through the videos from the cameras at the station"

"He's a good friend to Steph"

It was now 24 hours since Steph had gone missing. We'd checked out every plane and every tollbooth leaving the area. There were no leads, no crumbs to follow. I was sat in the conference room looking at all the information we had, there had to be something here, someone who took her, I just hoped it wasn't Mayers because we had no idea where he was. I stood up and looked closer at Steph's notes and realized the one person we hadn't looked for was Omar and Khalid's father. I quickly put his name into the search engine and looked at the photo that came up, was that the man who was dressed as a Colonel at the police station, there was definitely a similarity. Addresses for him were scattered all over the world but he had two here in the states, one over near San Francisco and the other was down on the keys south of Miami. For some reason I knew she was on the keys. I pulled out my phone and called for our private jet to be fuelled and ready for take off to fly down to Miami. Then called Miami Rangeman and organized for a car. Now to put together a team, Bobby was in Riyadh and Santos was trying to get in with Colonel Lexter, Tank needed to be here to ensure that the business still ran smoothly.

"What you up to Ranger?"

I hadn't heard Tank come in I was so deep in thought, but maybe his ideas might be worth listening to.  
"I'm heading down to Miami, I think Hanbury senior has her and he has a property down on the keys, I need a team Tank, any suggestions?"

"Probably Ram and Cal and maybe someone from the Miami office, Iker, he's good"

Yeah he was a good choice, he was younger than me but had been a ranger, a good sniper and could think outside of the box. Ram, Cal and I were landing in Miami as the sun came up, it would be warm down here, and Steph would love Miami, being next to the sea with miles of beaches. I didn't have a property here, only the apartment at Rangeman, I came for business and to visit Julie but didn't feel a connection here, maybe that was because Steph wasn't here. The car was waiting for us at the airport and we were soon sat in the conference room at Rangeman. Iker was keen to join us; I think he found the work here in Miami a bit tame. He'd left the rangers after a disagreement with his commanding officer, he'd been given the choice, leave or be court martialed and so he'd left. I looked into the allegation and found that Iker had been right to disagree with his commanders' order so I hadn't hesitated to take him on as an employee. As we were finalizing plans for driving down my phone buzzed.

"Talk"

"We got a call that said you had to phone this number, he said Mia wanted her safe"

I disconnected after I'd written the number down and went into my office to make the call.

"Ranger?"

"I believe you have someone who belongs to me Mr. Hanbury"

"Indeed I have and was calling to invite you here"

"I'll be there in an hour"

In the conference room the men looked up obviously wanting to carry on with our planning.

"Load up, we've got an invite"

We took two cars with us, Ram and Cal would do surveillance on the property while Iker and I would go in, I felt that Iker looked less threatening than the others, who was I kidding I would be the one who looked threatening. It was 1300hrs as we drove through the gates to this piece of real estate, I'd memorized the details and layout that could still be found when it went up on the market three years ago, Silvio assured me that no requests had been made to change anything structurally. So here we were at Islamorada on Lower Matecumbe Key. I could sense that Steph was close by and was on a constant look out for her. A woman answered the door and there was Mr. Hanbury stood behind her, he looked just the same as he had done when he'd walked into Trenton police station.

"Ranger, it's nice to meet you, Steph is on the beach, I'm sure you're keen to see her"

Without a word I walked through the house and headed for the beach, there she was, sat at the edge of the water. Her hand went to her neck and she turned, locking eyes with me. This time I was ready when she launched herself at me, I held onto her so tightly, relishing the fact that she was safe and with me, with one hand supporting her I pulled her head to mine my face in her hair taking in the feel of her. I released her so she was stood in front of me, my forehead against hers. I felt a sense of relief, a sense of completeness.

"I missed you so much Babe, I was so worried about you"

"How did you get here so fast?"

"I followed your notes and found Mr. Hanbury, he matched the man who took you out of the police station, I was already in Miami putting together a plan to come get you when he phoned me. Are you all right?"

She nodded but self-consciously touched her cheek where a large bruise had formed. I touched it gently with my fingertips moving them down and lifting her chin to look into her eyes.

"I love you very much Querida"

"I love you as much"

My heart swelled at her words everything was going to work out. I was aware of movement behind me and turned slightly to see Mr. Hanbury stood with Iker.

"Let's go talk with our host"

We walked hand in hand toward the decked area by the house and as I sat down on a sun lounger Steph sat between my legs, her side and head to my chest, Mr. Hanbury sat down next to me and the woman who had met us at the door appeared with a tray of cold drinks.

"Ranger, may I call you that?"

I nodded, noting that Iker was sat further back keeping an eye on the area.

"Steph has told me her story and of course I knew some from Mia and also what Omar told me when he asked me to take Mia and look after her. I wasn't aware of what happened after Khalid died, I simply collected my money together and moved on. Steph also filled me in on her theories, which in some cases I could substantiate from what Omar had said. As I see it we have four problems, this Colonel, Oliver Mayers, his niece and what ever the weapon was that Omar sold"

"What resources do you have Mr. Hanbury?"

"Call me Tariq please. I have old friends who have helped, the men who helped get Steph away from that police station were courtesy of one of those friends, contacts at the embassy and of course friends who are still in Saudi. Where are you up to in securing information?"

"I have a man on his way to Riyadh and one trying to get an in with the Colonel, someone is trying to find out about the weapon and Steph here is one of the best researchers we have"

"Do you have any ideas on who the target might be?"

"You or possibly the Colonel"

"Omar seemed to think the device was a dud"

"We can't take that chance"

Steph moaned slightly in my arms, she was asleep but restless.

"She didn't sleep well last night, I had Marta keep an eye on her"

"It usually takes her a few days after an incident for her to work it out of her head"

"She's a very strong woman, to have endured what she has over the last few weeks, hell I think even most men would have been running for the hills by now"

They certainly would, but not my Babe, she was stronger than she thought she was, brave as well. I leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, a hand caressing small circles on her shoulder seemed to be relaxing her. Tariq was watching obviously taking note of how she was settling down.

"Ranger what do you propose to do now, you're welcome here, but I don't have a lot of security, never had the need for it. Mia will want you stay"

"I don't know, maybe if we stay the night we may have new information to work with by the morning. I have two men outside who are guarding the perimeter and Iker will keep a look out from the beach area, they'll just need feeding"

"That I can do"

Tariq went inside leaving me with Steph still sleeping, I didn't want to disturb her and called Iker over to me.

"Watch from the beach and I'll relieve you at 2100hrs"

He nodded and disappeared to the side of the property where he would have the best view of the area.

"What do you think of Tariq?"

"How long have you been listening for?"

"Not long, I heard you talking to the new man, who is he anyway?"

"Iker, he's based in Miami, but maybe Trenton might be better for him"

"How long are we staying?"

"Till tomorrow or when we have something to move on with. Can you try to get a lead on Oliver Mayers?"

"Can do, did you bring a laptop with you?"

"In the car"

I moved to the side allowing Steph to stay on the lounger and went around the side of the house to the car; all seemed quiet as I retrieved my bag from the trunk. I returned to find Steph reading from a book with a young girl sat on her knee, I assumed this was Mia. Steph looked up and smiled then turned to the girl.

"Mia this is Ranger, he's with me"

"Hi Ranger, is that really your name, it's a strange name, did your mother choose it or your father, will you go out in the water with me because Jid said Steph couldn't?"

I looked at Steph who shrugged her shoulders; maybe it would be helpful to get a lie of the land from the sea and Steph could get started on her searches.

"Swimwear?"

"I'll go ask Marta"

She ran inside shouting for Marta, she was so different to Julie, Julie was quiet and thought more than spoke and she never ran anywhere, is this what Steph was like as a child? Maybe it would be nice to have a little Steph running about.

"What are you thinking?"

I was broken from my thoughts by Steph, how did I explain that thought without her panicking.

"Just thinking how different to Julie she is"

"She's a live wire, she seems to have gotten back to how she was when I first met her. She became so serious and quiet when we were in the desert"

Mia returned and handed me some board shorts that would be fine for swimming in and led me to a small cubicle by the pool for me to change, she even waited outside for me just in case I changed my mind I suppose.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

SPOV

I watched as Ranger and Mia ran into the water, they were both laughing as they raced each other. He was good with her, throwing her and letting her splash him and towing her around. In some ways she was like I had been when I was young, carefree and full of life. Where had that gone? He would make an amazing father, shit where did that come from? Remember he doesn't do marriage or children; well maybe he did the marriage because he had asked me to marry him, but kids? I shook the thoughts from my head and focused on the laptop on my knee, it wasn't a good place to work so I stood up and found a table and chairs in the shade and then set to work. Oliver Mayers had disappeared nine months ago according to Tank so I went into his bank account to look at his history of spending, Tank had emailed everything he had on him to date so at least I didn't have to start from scratch. I wondered if Mayers had bought from Alexander Ramos, but he didn't seem to be someone who dealt in weapons, just this dam device. So where did Mayers get his money from, how had he made a living for the past nine years? I looked at money going into his account and was surprised that there were regular payments going in from someone called Ramosely Holdings, who the hell were they? This is what happens when you run a search on someone it just leads to more names and more searches. According to what came up Ramosely Holdings were based in Saudi Arabia with their main office in Riyadh, now wasn't that a coincidence. I picked up a piece of paper and wrote out the name and then arranged the letters into different orders, yeah, just like I thought, it was an anagram for Oliver and Lydia Mayers. So what did this company actually do? Never mind Tariq could find that out. I needed to find an address for where Oliver might be so I followed through with Ramosely Holdings but couldn't find a way to get into that account, was it an off shore account? Dam another brick wall. What was the saying? Follow the money, so back in Mayer's account I looked to see where the money was going. The balance was quite low so he must transfer it out to somewhere or withdraw it but surely there was too much for a cash withdrawal? There were some payments out but mostly small amounts and the last one had been months ago, wait there it was, a monthly transfer out to another account but again I couldn't get access. I put in the sort code number that would identify the bank in the hope that it would at least tell me where the account was based, interesting it was based in Boston where Omar went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. So what was Mayers tie to Boston? Back into the search Tank had done, and there it was, his parents had lived there and he was born there, so an address for where he lived could be a family home. I found an address for the property where his family had lived and put that address in a search to find out who owned it now. Yes! Ramosely Holdings owned the property, I had names and addresses on pieces of paper so saved my search information and was about to finish.

"Babe"

"Yikes, you crept up on me"

"Tariq says you to have a rest and come get some dinner"

"I'm done anyway"

He looked at me with a funny expression as if to say I couldn't have already found out where Mayers was.

"Yes mister, I think I found him"

I put all my bits of paper in a neat pile, closed down the laptop and stood up, straight into Rangers arms. His kiss was soft and gentle then persuasive as his tongue parted my lips to engulf not only my mouth but my senses as well.

"Ahem!"

I quickly pulled away to see Mia watching us with a scowl on her face, what was that about? I took Rangers hand and we followed Mia into a dining area off the kitchen. Whatever Marta was serving up smelled delicious and looked amazing, Marta waited until we had all sat down then preceded to explain what each dish was.

"Fattoush, a tangy salad made with crispy lettuce, crunchy fried squares of pita, diced tomatoes, cucumbers and onion, garlic, lemon, olive oil and mint. Masgouf carp that I slow-cooked for three hours until the fat had been burned off, with lemon and pickles. And finally, Baklava, made from buttery filo pastry, chopped nuts, sweet syrup and honey dressing. Enjoy!"

The food was to die for and everyone including Ranger tried everything, all right he only had a small bite of my Baklava to please me, we were finished eating and had coffee in front of us when Tariq turned to Mia.

"Mia, it is time for you to go to bed"

"Jid do I have to?"

"Yes, then you'll be awake in the morning to see everyone"

She obviously thought that one through and Marta made the deal when she promised to read Mia ten pages from her book when she was in bed ready. The coffee was rich and dark, I assume an Arabic blend and the food had mainly been Arabic as well.

"Do you miss Saudi Tariq?"

"Not really, though their food is a taste I sometimes crave for, the coffee, yes I'm addicted to it. I've also tried to introduce Mia to some of our customs and food after all her father was Saudi"

I could understand that, Ranger still ate Cuban food and I still loved Italian, I know I love any food that tastes good.

"Babe, are you going to tell us what you found out earlier?"

Oh, he was curious, it wasn't often that Ranger was almost pleading for information, as he was usually the one to have it first.

"Well, a question to Tariq first. Have you heard of Ramosely Holdings?"

"No, where are they based"

I gave him the piece of paper with the name and address on it.

"I'll ask around, so what is so interesting about this company?"

"I did a lot of chasing in the searches and found this company, it's interesting that the name is an anagram of Oliver and Lydia's name. Then when I followed the money it led me to Boston, where the Mayers had a family property that is now owned by Ramosely Holdings. So I think Oliver is in Boston or Riyadh with his sister or at the address of that company"

There was silence from both of the men, shit had I got it wrong?

"You said she was good Ranger, I'd say she was a genius"

"Proud of you Babe, I knew if anyone could find him you would"

"Thank you, so what do we do now?"

Tariq stood up and took out his phone.

"I'll make a call to Riyadh and get someone to check out the company and these addresses"

"I'll call Boston Rangeman and get them to do surveillance on that address"

"I'll send a picture of Mayers so they know who to look out for"

And then they were both gone. I sat looking out at the waves lapping against the sand and decided to have a short walk down there. I was about to sit on the sand when a shadow fell over me, I panicked and quickly stood up and moved away from who ever was there.

"I'm sorry Miss. Plum, I didn't mean to scare you, I just thought I'd let you know I was here and didn't frighten you if you saw me hiding out"

I sat back down where I'd been before and Iker sat next to me. He looked younger than the normal Merry Men, in fact he wasn't as big as some of them, maybe more Ranger's build. He was a good-looking guy, blond hair down to his shoulders, in fact he reminded me of Diesel with the sun-streaked look. He was wearing the usual Rangeman uniform and certainly had the muscles to go with the uniform.

"Steph or Stephanie please. Are you here all night?"  
"No Ranger's doing the next watch while I get some sleep then I'm back here at 0500"

"So not a Miami fan then?"

"It's all right, though the main role in Miami is the security, not a lot of action"

"I wouldn't know, I've not been there"

"You're from Trenton right?"

"Yeah, too much action for my liking"

"I hear you have a nickname, the Bombshell Bounty Hunter?"

"Had, I haven't done any bounty hunting for ages, not that trouble hasn't found me"

"You saying you attract trouble?"

"Yeah, that's me. One boyfriend called me a disaster magnet, maybe he was right"

"Babe, you okay?"

"Yeah, just talking with Iker"

"I'll take over, you get some sleep"

Iker left and Ranger sat down on the beach behind me, his legs bent on either side of my hips, his arms around my waist.

"What are you thinking Babe?"

"It's me?"

"What's you?"

"I'm the one that attracts trouble, not bounty hunting, not you, it's me"

"No, not you, you just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time for one incident and then it snowballs"

"Same thing"

"Babe I love you for who you are"

"But not for all the trouble I bring you"

"If that's what is a part of you, then bring it on. I always thought that you being associated with me would get you hurt, that's why I kept my distance, but together we can defeat anyone, but only by being together"

I know I was feeling down at the moment, hell didn't I deserve to have some kind of breakdown after everything I'd been through, but how long could I keep this up?

"Babe?"

"I'm sorry, I just feel so, I don't know. I need to have a break before I go under"

He wrapped me in his arms almost as if he was trying to pass on some of his strength, a tear fell down my cheek, god I was an emotional mess; a thumb on each cheek wiped them away.

"Babe, talk to me when you feel like this, I'll always listen to you and share the problem. I promise when this is all finished we'll go somewhere quiet, just you and me, okay?"

I nodded my head and laid against his chest, watching the waves and the moonlight as it reflected from them, I think I did feel better for saying what I felt out loud.

RPOV

As Steph relaxed against me my heart went out to her, she always tried to show everyone around her how strong she was, and she was, but these last few weeks must have taken a toll on her emotional health. I knew her physical health was up and down like a yoyo, she still needed to gain some weight, but she never complained or tried to get out of doing anything, in fact she hadn't relaxed properly for a long time, she must be wound up so tight, no wonder she thought she was about to break. I stood taking her with me in my arms, fast asleep, so I needed to find her bedroom and make sure she was settled before doing my surveillance. Tariq saw me carrying her into the house and indicated to follow him, on the ground floor was a bedroom, the sheets pulled back ready for her to sleep in. I laid her down and pulled up the cover, kissed her on her forehead, nose and lips before leaving.

"She takes on too much"  
"I know, but she won't stop until this problem is finished"

"Then be sure you are there to support her, she's walking a thin wire at the moment, be sure you're there to catch her"

Since when did he get so philosophical? I knew what he was saying and I'd be there for her or die trying. The night went quietly and slowly, I wanted to be in that bed with my Babe and was relived when Iker turned up on the dot at 0500hrs.

"We'll be leaving mid morning so make sure everything's packed up"

"Sir"

Maybe he'd do well in the fast lane with Steph and could be a good partner for her, depending on what she ended up doing, but whatever it was if she was with me she'd need someone near her. I undressed and slipped into the bed next to her encircling her in my arms as she automatically rolled onto me. This was where she belonged, here in my arms. I woke as Steph came out of the bathroom, she was fully dressed but looked pale, I know she'd slept better last night as I'd checked on her during my watch.  
"You look a little pale, are you feeling all right?"

"Fine, I think I got up too quickly and then with a hot shower my blood pressure dropped, I'm feeling better already"

I knew she had low blood pressure but this was another sign that she wasn't as well as she said, but would she admit it and slow down? Hell no, in some respect we were very similar with that, neither of us stopped until we reached our goal.

"I need to contact Boston and see what they found at that address, I'll be right out "

She left, probably to catch up with Mia and Tariq so I showered quickly and dressed then called Boston.

"Ranger, we hit the payload, subject seen at the address"

"Lift and secure"

Good, that meant by the time we arrived in Boston Mayers would be in a cell at Rangeman, now I needed to hear from Santos and Brown, instead I called Tank.

"Anything to report?"

"Brown is in but reports all quiet at the moment and Santos is back, says the Colonel has taken a weeks leave of absence starting today"

"Do we have eyes on him"

"Affirmative, tracker in his phone, briefcase and car, care of Santos. Hector is going to track him"

"We're headed for Boston"  
"How's my Little Girl?"

"Close to the edge"  
"Shit, I'm not surprised, the crap she's been through"

"So let's get this job finished with and I can take her away somewhere"

"I hear you"

As I came out of the room Steph was walking out of the front door with Mia, I didn't like that they would be alone.

"Where are you two off to?"

"I'm walking Mia to her friends for them to go to school"

"Mind if I walk with you?"

I saw that Steph knew I didn't want her alone, Ram and Cal should be around and so far they hadn't reported anything out of the usual.

"That'll be great, won't it Steph?"

Ah, I now seemed to have a young admirer.

"Steph says you're leaving today"

"We are yes"  
"Will you come visit me or maybe let me visit you?"

"I think that would be a good idea, don't you Babe?"

Steph smiled at me and then at Mia.

"As long as your Grandfather lets you then yes, I'd like that as well"

After lots of hugs Mia eventually went into her friends house, Steph and I walked back hand in hand along the lane, both of us I think lost in our thoughts.  
"It would be nice to have a kid like Mia"

Where the hell had that come from, I didn't mean to say that out loud, at least not now. Steph looked at me with a puzzled look.

"You mean, you think, really?"

I looked at her and realized yes, I loved her more than anything and eventually the idea of a mini Steph running around felt right.

"Eventually yes, when we're both ready"

"Oh, could you cope with a kid like Mia, because she's got nothing on what I was like as a kid?"

I stopped and looked at her.

"Yes, I'd like nothing better than a mini you running around"

She smiled as she turned, strange because when she was with Morelli the idea of having children made her run, maybe he just wasn't the right man for her after all and I was. Once we returned to the house Tariq was keen to talk with us, he ushered us into a room done out as an office and gave Steph a piece of paper, the one she'd given him last night.

"That company, Ramosely Holdings, I spoke with a friend who got back to me this morning, this isn't official just word of mouth, nothing concrete. The shurta, sorry police, are trying very hard to get enough evidence to shut it down, but they still don't know who is running it. They deal in trafficking people, workers for the construction industry but also women and children, with there being so many refugees moving around it's easy pickings, they promise a new life and people go with them or hope their children will have new opportunities. Anything that you find that would help to break that despicable action would be used to bring them to justice, and as you know justice in Saudi can be very extreme"

"Thank you Tariq, Ranger and I may have found Mayers so we'll keep you up to date"

"Aihtafaz bibaedikama fi 'aman"

Once we were in the car Steph turned to me

"What did he say?"

"Keep each other safe"

"I liked him, a lot, and I think he and Mia will be good for each other"

I agreed with that, he seemed to have found something to make his life worthwhile now.

"Ranger, why do you think Aden took me to Riyadh?"

"I'm not sure, after what we've learnt, I don't like where my thoughts are going with that"

"You think she wanted me to sell me or worse? When I was in her house I overheard her talking to a man, she expected Aden to turn up with me"

"Do you think Aden is more involved than we thought?

"I think he knew more than we found out from him"

"So why do they want Mia?"

"When we first met Mayer in the desert Mia said he'd told her that she would get him what he wanted"

"Well let's hope that he's in a cell when we get to Boston"

I'd brought our fake ids and paperwork when I'd left Trenton so it was easy to get a flight up to Boston, Steph slept most of the time and at least she seemed more relaxed now, maybe the idea of talking with Mayer would ease her stress. A car was waiting for us as arranged and we were driven into the heart of Boston where the Rangeman office was. This office almost ran itself, I had a good management team in place and in turn they had employed some excellent men. The atmosphere was similar to Trenton in as much that most who worked here were men and there was a military feel to how things were run. We had two women here, both ex army and excellent at their work, I'm sure Steph would be interested in meeting with them, maybe later. First I wanted to see Mayer and get some information from him.

"Ranger, would you let me talk to Mayer first, he won't expect to see me and might let something slip. If it doesn't work then you can beat the crap out of him"  
She smiled as she said the last part and then I remembered how she'd questioned Aden in that cemetery.

"There's an apartment on the top floor with some clothes for you"

"How?"

"I asked Ella to send a list to Sara telling her what you'd need"

"I hope she put cat boots on the list"

From the garage we went straight up to level six which is where my apartment was.

"The key fob is in the tray Babe, when you're ready come down to level four, my office is in the same place as it is at Trenton"

She saluted me and walked in and straight through to the bedroom, good she was in a quirky mood, upbeat and confident. I met with my management team in my office to hear how the takedown had gone.

"Piece of cake"

"Didn't see us coming"

"He's shitting himself down there"

Good all the things I wanted to hear.

"Did anyone go inside the house?"

"No, you said you wanted to do that, we've still got a team keeping surveillance on it"

"Good, we'll go in this evening"

At that moment the door opened and Steph walked in, she was a sight to behold and most of the men took a second look. I'd expected her to be her Rangeman uniform but this; this was literally dressed to kill. She had on a pair of tight leather trousers that hung low on her hips showing several inches of skin under a leather bustier, it wasn't that it exposed anything, in fact it didn't, it was V necked and showed a bit of cleavage and went over her shoulders in wide straps. Somehow she'd managed to find a double harness and had two automatic guns fastened falling to where her skin was exposed, two knives, one in a sheath strapped to her thigh and another showing out of the top of one her boots, boots that came to her knees and had three inch heels. Her hair was how I liked it, a mass of curls around her face. Shit, I was getting turned on just looking at her. I came to my senses and stood up.

"Gentleman, may I introduce Stephanie Plum, she'll be talking with our prisoner first"

No one said a word, I don't think they knew what to say, hell even I was lost for words.

"Babe, I see you're dressed to kill, shall we?"

She turned and walked into the elevator, waiting for me, and as the doors closed I blocked the cameras.

"Babe if you wear that upstairs I won't hold myself responsible for what I will do with you"

"Down boy, I want to get him off guard"

"Oh you'll do that all right. Do you want me inside with you?"

"Is he shackled?"

"Yes, legs to the floor and wrists to the table"

"Can you stay just inside the door?"

"Anything you want"

"If I lose it?"

"I'm there for you"

I noticed the observation room was full, were they there for the interrogation or to watch my Babe? Steph stood tall and took a few deep breaths before entering the room. It was the same as any of the cells in all of the Rangeman offices, white walls and floor with a table in the middle bolted to the floor. Mayers was seated on one of the chairs his legs shackled and fastened to rings bolted into the floor, his wrists again in shackles but fastened to the top of the table in front of him. As we entered the lights came on taking him from the pitch black into bright light. I watched him as his eyes adjusted to the light and then as he watched Steph approach him. His eyes were wide with surprise as he took in her appearance, she was still stood in front of him and without looking at him began to talk softly her voice caressing.

"Mr. Mayers, how nice to meet you again, do you know who I am?"

He shook his head, never taking his eyes from her, then as she lent over the table, hands flat on the surface she looked at him, her eyes locked on his. I could only imagine the image her eyes portrayed, a deep dark blue, because he seemed to recoil from her look, his eyes widening in surprise.

"I'm sure you do Mr. Mayers"

"You?"

"Ah, I'm glad you remember now. The camp Mr. Mayers, where you had me taken to?"

"But you"

"I'm not supposed to here, is that what you thought?"

"But she"

"Was supposed to follow your orders? Oh you really are gullible Mr. Mayers, you're the one who is expendable; didn't she tell you?"

"She said she would deal with you"

"Why?"

"You knew who I was, you'd seen me, and you knew too much. But maybe they had other plans"

As he said those words his voice seemed familiar, had he been the one at the house in Riyadh, no it was someone else.

"Where do you get all your money from Mr. Mayers?"

"We deal with property and construction, managing the workers and their permits"

"So you get money from the employers and the employees?"

"That's how it works in Saudi"

"A lot of money Mr. Mayers. Are you sure that's all you do?"

"Yes, well maybe, I don't know anymore"

"Why did she want me Mr. Mayers?"

"I asked her to deal with you but I think she was after you to get that girl"

"So you could use her for blackmail? I don't think that's in the plan now"

"What? That has nothing to do with me"

"The plan Mr. Mayers"

"I've failed, I should have seen it earlier"

"It can still work Mr. Mayers"

Steph now sat down opposite the man, her cheek resting in one of her hands as she

propped it up with an elbow on the table, her other hand playing with the curls of her hair. If I could see her face would she be looking at him with her lashes down acting sexy and demure?

"Well maybe, maybe I could help you"

He was smitten with her; he couldn't look away from her, would he fall into her trap or would she need to show some violence?

"But you could tell me and I could help you, then maybe you'll get your revenge for what was done"

"Why would you help me, you've got nothing to gain from this?"

"Oh I do. I want this over with as well, I know how much you're aching, yearning. You've invested so much into this Oliver, you have to see it through, see it finished and make sure they get what they deserve"

"How do I know I can trust you, are you saying you know what they're doing?"

"Look at me Oliver, you can trust me, I'll make sure you're work is completed"

"Will you get me out of here?"

"I think that can be arranged, these men do as I want them to do"

He looked down at his hands obviously trying to decide what he should say next. Steph had woven her trap well; his need for revenge was eating at him.

"All right, but it needs to be done soon, there's only a small window of opportunity"

"I'm with you Oliver, I'll see that you get your revenge"

"He's coming to his house tomorrow night to play in his room, you'll need to set up the device to go off at exactly 5pm, that's when he'll be in there, he's a monster, I didn't know anything until recently, but Lydia, she's part of it, I don't think Omar knew and I only found out by chance, I won't have a man like him defiling and degrading women and children like he does. Lydia doesn't know what I plan to do, she dotes on him and makes too much money with him"

"Why Mia?"

"For some reason he wants her to have Mia"

"For what reason?"

"To please Lydia, she wants her to make her family complete"

"The device, where is it?"

"At his house"

"Where is his play room?"

"Somewhere in his house, I looked but haven't found it"

"How do you know about this room?"

"I saw him this one time and got into the house, the thing is I searched that place, every room and couldn't find him. I kept watch from outside and then he came out, he must have a secret room in the place, that's the only explanation"

"Where is his house?"

He ignored the question and was now lost in his own thoughts, as though talking through them would help to explain what he thought Steph needed to know.

"It belonged to Lydia's Grandparents, she must have inherited it. Lydia must have told him to use it, that's how I found out about him, she mentioned about having this house in Boston, he didn't know I was in Boston and I kept a look out at the house but couldn't find him, then when I was outside I saw him come out of the house"

"How do you know he'll be there?"

"He always uses the house when he's in town and he's supposed to be in town tomorrow"

"The address Oliver"

"It's next door to mine"

Steph stood up and turning walked out of the room without another word or turning back, she was upset and the frown on her face meant she was working through what had been said and what had been implied. He had answered most of the concerns we had, mainly where the device was but he hadn't said who it was and that concerned me, did Steph know? I still couldn't work out who it was that wanted to hurt Steph, yes Mayer would, she could identify him, that woman Lydia, but why if she wanted Steph to find Mia, then there was the Colonel, if he was involved as we suspected then he would be worried that Steph knew and what role did Aden have in all this. I'm sure there was something more to him. I followed her and made sure the door was secure but when I turned around she was gone and the men were trying to stop me to ask what was going on. I honestly didn't know, I was missing something that Steph saw as important, I ran up the stairs to the apartment and realized I didn't have a fob to unlock the door, why the hell had she locked it? I returned minutes later with a spare fob and entered the apartment quietly, she wasn't in the kitchen or lounge and the bedroom had her outfit thrown across the floor. Shit something was definitely wrong and a loud crashing sound from the bathroom told me that Steph was in one hell of a mood. The door was locked.

"Babe, let me in"

Another crash followed by the sound of water from the shower, this door was a simple lock that operated from the inside there was no way to pick it open from outside, so I lifted my leg and kicked at the place where the lock was located. At this moment in time Steph was far more important than a broken door. The floor was littered with plastic bottles, shower gel, shampoo and even the toothpaste and brushes, but it was the quiet sound of sobbing that had me moving into the shower. There she sat, curled up in the corner, water pouring down her body, with her head in her hands quietly sobbing. I turned the water off, grabbed the nearest towel and sat in the shower tray pulling her to my knee whilst wrapping the towel around her.  
"Babe, it's okay, you did an amazing job with Mayers"

"I'm so stupid"

"No you're not"

"I am, I totally missed it"

"Babe whatever it is that you missed I missed it as well"

"But I should have followed it up"

"Babe, what is it that you think we missed?"

"No, I have to make sure, because if I'm right, oh god I don't want to be right"

"What do you need?"

Her sobbing had eased to just tears slowly trailing down her face, the makeup she'd worn now forming black lines on her cheeks.

"Let's get you cleaned up and dressed then you can do what you think you need to do"

I lifted her in my arms and stepped out from the shower, trying to avoid the mess on the floor.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me, and it's just that I was so mad at myself"

"It'll be fine they're only plastic bottles, nothing broken"

I carried her through to the bedroom and wiped her face clean with the towel then brought out a Rangeman uniform for her, underwear included. Eventually I saw a smile appear on her face when I found some cat boots in her size. Dressed and looking calmer, but still pale we left the apartment and headed for the elevator.

"Where to?"

"My laptop, it has copies of the searches I've done"

I left her in my office with her laptop but didn't go far, whatever she thought she knew was the cause for her being so upset and she was rarely wrong.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

SPOV

I felt numb as I sat at Rangers desk, I know I asked him to leave me alone to do this, but in my heart I knew I was right in what I thought had happened. I suppose the only consolation was that no one else knew either. I pulled up the search I'd done so long ago on the Hanbury family, a mother who had died when they were young and a father too interested in running his business empire. Where had that left the sons, to their own devises, left to grow up and make their own decisions and life choices. Khalid was reported as having died from a mugging gone wrong, no one was ever found to face the charges and his death whilst seen as tragic resulted in changes to so many lives. I pulled up the details of his death and wasn't surprised, disappointed, yes. He was reported to have died from serious head injuries, in fact he'd been identified from the clothes that he wore, his watch and the ring he never took off, along with a wallet that contained only his ID card: money and bank cards were missing. I sighed, I don't why I didn't pick up on this before, but it was too late for self-recrimination. I printed out what I needed and headed to the conference room next door where I knew Ranger was with his team planning out breaking into the house to retrieve that device. I felt embarrassed walking into the room, everyone went silent as if they were waiting for something and I suppose I owed them an explanation, especially Ranger, he'd been so patient with me, dam these mood swings they were really beginning to get me down. I sat down next to Ranger and looked around the room at the expectant faces, well here goes.

"I'm sorry if I left in a hurry after that talk with Mr. Mayers but there was something that started to niggle at me and I needed to check it out"

"Miss. Plum you did real good in there with him, you got the information we needed"

I looked across at the man who had said that, I didn't know anyone here. Did they know of me?

"Well there's more and I'm mad at myself for not seeing it before now"

"Babe, non of us saw what you did, so don't apologize, what did you deduce from that talk that we didn't see?"

"The man who Oliver Mayers hates with a passion, enough to blow him up, is Khalid Hanbury. He didn't die all those years ago in a mugging, the body was only identified through what he had on him, and I believe his death was a fake. He was the one who diversified his fathers business into people trafficking, not Omar. Omar dealt with weapons but not people. Lydia is living in Riyadh as Maria, Khalid's lover and wants Mia to complete the charade of the three of them. Khalid is Mayers target"

There was silence then a lot of talk between the men, they looked from Ranger to me then the one who had spoken before stood up, he seemed to be the spokesperson for this group.

"Miss. Plum"

Well here it comes something along the lines of how stupid I am for thinking a ridiculous idea and thinking Ranger must be mad to be hanging around with me.

"Please call me Steph or Stephanie"

"Sorry, I'm Luke, I run things round here, well when Ranger's not about. As to what you've just said, well I needed a moment to digest that piece of information and I'd like to say the way your mind works just plain amazes me, I mean anyone involved in this said he was dead, even his family, so to come up with the Intel that you found, well no wonder Trenton say you're the best researcher they've ever seen"

I looked up from my hands that were resting on my knees, did I hear right? Ranger took one of my hands and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss in my palm.

"Proud of you Babe"

I wiped a tear that was forming in the corner of my eye, yeah a happy tear, they didn't think I was stupid or mad, they believed in me.

"Babe are you with us tonight?"

"Yes, we need to find that room and evidence of what Khalid and Lydia have been up to"

"Okay if you focus on that we'll look for the device but everyone has to carry a radiation monitor with them, Jase you'll keep a watch on every ones reading and alert me if the readings rise, Iker I want you helping Steph to find that room, everyone else is to focus on finding the weapon. We leave at 2200hrs suited and dressed"

As I stood and the men left Ranger took me in his arms, holding me tight against him, his hand sweeping through my hair made me feel comforted and wanted.

"Babe you underestimate yourself sometimes, you did really well today, but I don't understand why you lost it this afternoon, remember what we agreed, that you'd talk with me?"

"I know but I felt so mixed up, I thought of Mia and Tariq and if I was right how much it would hurt them so I wanted to be wrong. Then the more I put the pieces together the more angry I got at what Khalid had put everyone through, his family and all those women and children"

"So your emotions were conflicted"

"My emotions are all over the place, in the middle of that I felt so disappointed in myself that I'd missed it and what you'd think"

"I saw everything that you read and it never occurred to me, you are an amazing woman Stephanie, believe it"

As he had spoken to me his face had moved from beside mine to in front of me, his lips whispered across mine and it was me who moved closer taking his mouth in mine, teasing and biting at his lower lip until he opened his mouth for me. His hand was at the back of my head holding me, I felt my body respond and my heart beat increase, my skin was tingling at his closeness and his smell was intoxicating, I could feel his erection growing and pushing against me.

"Ahem"

I jumped back at the interruption my cheeks felt hot a sure sign that I was blushing, the person responsible was the woman Ranger had called Jase. She was tall but broad and looked as though she could probably do a lot of damage to an unsuspecting person, but her smile was genuine and I smiled back, liking her already.

"Sorry to interrupt but I need to get Steph sorted out for tonight"

What did I need to be sorted out with? She put a bag down on the table and motioned to the seat, I sat down giving Ranger a questioning look.

"Ranger, Steph and I are fine to do this if you have other work to do?"

Was she dismissing him? Yes she was and he left us alone for her to sort me out!

"Hi, I'm Jace the company medic, I do the same job that Bobby does for Trenton. When you go out tonight I'll be monitoring your vitals so I need to have a baseline to work from, you know heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate and I also take a blood sample so that if you get hurt I've got all the info that a doctor would need"

"You do this with everyone?"

"Yeah, I found it helps, Bobby has a similar system with every ones data, he probably collected yours when he treated you"

"Oh"

"This is the monitor for your vitals, it fastens around the wrist, and this is the monitor that Ranger wants you to wear, this goes round your neck, make sure it doesn't get covered up"

She then took my arm and pulled a tourniquet around it and had a needle out about to stab me. I panicked and pulled away, my breathing hitched and I had a layer of sweat on my face. I didn't hear the door open only the distant sound of voices and arms around me.

"I'm sorry Jase I didn't know you were going to take blood from her, she absolutely terrified of needles"

Ranger, Ranger was here. I focused on my breathing, long, slow breaths in through my nose, filling my lower lungs, then upper lungs. Hold my breath to the count of "three."

I exhale slowly through my lips, and relaxed the muscles in my face, jaw, shoulders, and stomach.

"Brilliant Steph, you're doing that real well, almost there"

"Well done Babe, where'd you learn that?"

"Bobby, the last panic attack I had, he made me practice it every time he saw me"

"Do you think you can cope with Jase finishing her test if I hold you?"

I nodded; I had to get over this fear of needles and doctors. Ranger sat down and held me with my back to his front, his arms around me.

"Close your eyes and focus on your breathing"

I did as he asked and although it hurt when the needle went in I didn't panic, in fact I didn't realize she'd finished.

"All done, well done Steph. I'll see you both soon"

Soon, what time was it?

"Its seven, we need to eat, you missed lunch"

When we got up to seven there were domed plates waiting for us on the dining table with juice and water.

"Is Sara another Ella?"

"Yes, she's looking forward to meeting you, apparently she been talking to Ella"

"By the looks of this lasagne I'd say she talked a lot to Ella, and it tastes delicious"  
"Just don't compare the two women or we'll have a war on our hands"

The meal was delicious but there was far too much for just me and I had to leave some room for dessert, and the dessert was pineapple upside down cake. I stared at it for a moment, I suddenly felt so guilty; that last call with my mother hadn't ended well, I'd got annoyed with what she was saying but was it time to talk to her? Would be worried about me or still be desperate for me to marry Morelli?

"Babe, deep thoughts?"

"I was thinking about my mother, I haven't spoken to her in weeks, that makes me an awful daughter doesn't it?"

"No it doesn't, she knows you're away working"  
"But she'll know I was arrested by Morelli"

"Well she hasn't called anyone that I know of"

"Can I call her tomorrow?"

"Of course you can, go get changed then we need to be downstairs to get you suited up"

I left the cake where it was; my appetite had suddenly gone and went through to the bedroom to change. I was dressed in my Rangeman uniform, cat boots and a short fitted black jacket, and Sara obviously had the same sewing matching as Ella because it had the Rangeman logo on it.

I had a gun hanging from a holster on my waist and strapped to my thigh, a knife on the other side and a special Kevlar vest, it felt special, it was light and fitted me better than any I'd worn before. Jase fitted my wrist monitor and hung the radiation monitor round my neck.

"Ready Babe?"

"Can I have another look at the blue prints while we drive there?"

Once I was in the back seat Ranger passed the papers over, there was something here and I was missing it. Iker leant over to look as well.

"What're you looking for?"

"I'm not sure, but I'll know when we're near"

"How?"

"You'll see"

How on earth could I explain to him what my spidey sense was, I mean maybe he'd call it a gut reaction, but it was so much stronger than that. The car suddenly stopped and Ranger looked at Iker, he nodded to him, yeah I knew the message, stick with her like glue or else. He then looked at me and smiled, he knew I knew Iker was my new bodyguard.

"You ready Babe?"

I nodded and dropped down from the car, we had to wait for the first team to secure the perimeter.

"Here, wear this ear bud and neck mike then you'll know where we are and I'll know how you're doing"

He fitted them to me and I was suddenly overcome with the sound of voices in my ear, too many and too distracting.

"Can I have it so I just hear you, there are too many voices"

I gave him the ear bud and he twisted it and gave it back to me. Silence.

"Talk so I know it's working"

"Babe"

I gave him a thumb up and smiled, even Iker found that amusing.

"Iker wait till I give you the all clear and then you and Steph can come in"

I was bouncing by the time Iker touched me on the shoulder, at last we could get inside, the door was open slightly and Iker took out his flash light as we entered, wouldn't do for the lights to be on, what would the neighbors do if they thought the house was being broken into. Luckily the drapes were closed and seemed thick enough to keep the light from the flashlight unnoticeable. I took mine out as well, I knew where I needed to be, the library, but first I went into the room next to it and paced out the length of the adjoining wall, then with Iker in tow went to the room on the other side of the library and did the same. Both rooms were thirty paces long. Now the library, interesting, only twenty paces long it was short by about ten foot. I went to the bookcase at the end of the room; somewhere in these bookshelves was a hidden compartment, now to find a way to open a door. Iker seemed to realize what I was working out and he started at the other end of the bookcase. Think Stephanie; it's been here for years so you're looking for an old book, maybe even a classic. On a shelf above my eye level I spotted some of the old classic literature books, I think these would be a possibility, I read through the sleeves pleased that I had read them when I was younger, A Journey to the Center of the Earth. by Jules Verne, The War of the Worlds. by H.G. Wells, Brave New World. by Aldous Huxley When Worlds Collide. by Edwin Balmer & Philip Wylie, well maybe not the last one. I pulled down from the top of A Journey to the Center of the Earth, jackpot, it tilted forward and there was a loud clunk as a mechanism moved and then a section of the book case swung open into the room.

"Iker, over here, I found the door"

He brought his flashlight and walked in front of me into the space we'd found. It was an empty room with a staircase leading down, no signs of traps and I didn't want to try to find a switch for the single row of bulbs hanging down from the ceiling. I followed him down the stairs and into a corridor that had two doors leading from it. Moving my beam around I saw bare concrete walls that had been painted white and a floor that was smooth and clean, but it was the faint hint of a smell in the air that had me worried. Iker stopped at the first but my spidey senses were going nuts.

"Iker some thing's wrong"

I didn't finish my sentence because he held out his hand and got hold of the door handle and opened it, then walked in.

"Nothing just an empty room, but there's another door leading out of it"

I went to the second door and did the same as Iker, opened the door and walked in. I swept my torch around the room and let out a scream. I had to get out of here oh god where was the door, had it closed? There was no handle on the inside and what was in the room was moving toward me, this time I didn't stop screaming.

RPOV

I was really pleased that the search had found that dam weapon so quickly; it was in the attic hidden in a crate under some dustsheets. It had the universal symbol for radiation on the outer box but none of the monitors were reading anything at all. I'd just told the men to transport it to a secured and air locked vault we had behind the Rangeman building when my phone buzzed and I could hear screaming in my ear. I moved down the stairs with several of the men following, they'd obviously heard the same thing as I had. I answered my phone while moving.

"Yo"

"Something's wrong with Iker and Steph, Ikers breathing and heart rate are both dropping and Stephs just hit the roof"

I shouted out so the rest of the team would here me and react quickly.

"Steph and Iker are in trouble, find them"

While the some of the men took the first floor I went down to the ground floor, I was sure that was where she was concentrating on; in fact she'd been looking at the measurements for the library. My flashlight beam caught a gap where the bookcase was away from the wall.

"Library"

I could here the men respond then as I went toward the stairs it went silent, dam was there was something blocking the comms units or had she gone silent because she was hurt? Several men had now followed me but I was worried about a trap.

"Leave a man at the door to make sure it doesn't close. The rest of you follow me"

I carefully stepped down the stairs one step at a time, my flashlight held below my gun sweeping the area, nothing so far, the stairs finished at the end of a corridor with two doors leading from it, I motioned to Luke to take the first door and moved to the second one, I knew my Babe was behind that door. Luke had already opened the first door and had gone inside leaving a man on the door, I heard him talking through the comms unit.

"There's a second door in here, you stay there and keep it open. He's here but unconscious, hell he couldn't get out, there's no handle on the inside"

Slowly I reached for the handle in front of me and was surprised when it opened so easily that's when I could hear her panicked breathing, I rushed in with Mack behind me and Josh staying at the open door, there she was in the corner scrunched up into a tiny ball, but it was the scurrying sound that had my attention, rats, lots of them, all trying to get to her. The light frightened some of them away then my boots sent others flying as I picked her up and turned around. The light picked up some horrifying snaps of what was here, but now was not the time to look further; I had to get Steph out of here. Quickly I carried her upstairs, her panicked breathing piercing the silence around us.

"Luke I want you to process this place, everything remember it has to hold up in a court of law"

He nodded to me, his face showing the horror that was behind that door. Once outside in the library I could hear concerned voices and questions.

"Jase, emergency, meet me outside the building by the cars"

My hold on her tightened as she began to struggle.

"Babe, you're safe, you're outside, please Babe hear me"  
"Put her in the back Ranger, I'm going to sedate her, she's going into shock. I've already sent Iker back"

I held her as Jase injected her in the arm and felt as she started to relax, hell she must have been frightened to death with what she saw and those rats, I'd only ever come across a situation like that when a nutcase down in South America wanted to torture the soldier he'd captured. I continued to hold her as Jase drove the car back to Rangeman, how would she recover from this, how did I help her?  
"Infirmary Ranger, I need to keep a check on her vitals and put an IV in, she'll end up going into shock and that's not good"

The lights were dim as Jase worked; I was worried what would happen when the sedative started to wear off.

"Jace what now?"

"I'm going to put a calmer in the drip so when the sedative wears off she doesn't get agitated again. We need to keep her warm, hydrated and provide oxygen. What the hell happened to her Ranger?"

"She walked into hell Jace, you may need to check out any rat bites on her"

"Oh shit, antibiotics as well. I need to check her blood works first then check with Bobby's records for allergies, you okay for now?"

I nodded then pulled up a chair to be beside my Babe, please god let her come through this, she doesn't deserve all the shit she's been landed with. Jase came back in and checked out the monitors, but something was wrong Jace wasn't normally this quiet.

"Jace what's wrong?"

"I'll have to be careful with what I give her"

"Is she allergic to something?"

I knew some painkillers sometimes sent her high.

"Ranger, I can't say, you know patient confidentiality and all that"

"Jace what can't you tell me?"

I stood up and faced her, now what? What else could be affecting her?

"Is she ill, I know she hasn't been eating well and she's been sleeping a lot more than usual and hell her emotions have been all over the place, please Jace I have to know"

"Go put those symptoms into Google and see what it comes up with, and it's not depression"

I got my phone out and went to safari putting in the things I'd noticed yeah depression came up a lot but then as I followed a different link. I looked up at Jace and knew I'd just found out the reason Steph felt as she did, though probably she hadn't told me everything. I smiled, yeah smiled and Jace smiled with me, Steph was pregnant, in all this madness we'd only had sex a few times and I never even thought about using a condom, Steph was on the pill.

"I take it you didn't know?"

"No, she's on the pill"

"Oh yeah the first thing you remember to have with you when you're kidnapped, how many times?"

I wasn't going to answer that question, but in my head I tried to remember, hell maybe only three times. With everything that had been going on there hadn't been many opportunities.

"Jace how does what she went through affect the baby?"

"She's not far along so as long we keep her physical stats up she should be fine and the baby as well"

"I'm staying here till she can be moved"

"Expected, I'll let the others know"

"Jace no one must know about the pregnancy"

"No of course not"

Jace kept lowering the strength of the sedative as she added a calmer but it was a long process, most of the men had called in to see how she was, Luke was the last to call by and he looked tired and if a man can look it, sad.

"We've finished up at the house, everything is documented, you want me to bring him in?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure what to do about him yet and I know Steph will want a say"

"It was hell down there Ranger, he's not just mad, he's a monster"

"I know"

"How's she doing?"

"Early days yet"

It was six hours before Jace warned me that the sedative and calmer were wearing off, I lay on the bed next to Steph waiting. I knew the instant she started to become conscious, she stiffened and began to tremble.

"Babe you're safe, I'm with you; there's nothing here that's going to hurt you. I love you so much Babe, come back to me; let me see those blue eyes of yours"

She relaxed slightly and her eyes began to open, I knew she was scared after what she'd seen but I needed her, my old Steph.

"I have this for you, this time it doesn't come off, ever, except when I put the band on your finger"

I'd been carrying her engagement ring ever since I took it back from Morelli, but there just hadn't been the right time to give it back to her, I hoped and prayed that she hadn't changed her mind.

I was laid with my face looking at hers as she opened her eyes; tears began to fall down onto the pillow. I held her face in my hands and rubbed them away with my thumbs.

"Hi"

"Am I really here?"

"Yes Querida you're here"

"I was so frightened"

"I know, but it's over with, gone, you won't ever have to experience that again' I'm here with you"

"I love you Carlos Ricardo Manoso"

"I love you as well, both of you"

She frowned at that comment, and then her eyes opened wide and stared at me.

"Both of us?"

"I said I wanted a little you running around"

"What if it's a little you?"

"Then we'll have to try again"

"How did you find out?"

"Some of your symptoms and then Jace couldn't give you the medication she wanted to"

"How did she know?"

"Your blood test, when did you know?"

"I didn't, not really, I knew I didn't feel well all the time and felt tired but I just put it down to the effects of everything that was happening. With everything that was going on I figured I was ill from a breakdown"

"All we have to now is put all the evidence together, then you and I can spend some quality time together"

"Is Iker all right?"

"Yes, he got knocked out with some sort of gas that triggered when he opened the second door

"Khalid?"

"In a cell, I thought you might want a say in what we do with him"

"Was there enough evidence to put Lydia away as well?"

"Yes, she's unaware that anything has happened to Khalid and Bobby is keeping her in his sights"

"Did you find that weapon?"

"Yes so we have evidence against the Colonel, fortunately it was a prototype and didn't have any nuclear material in it"

"We'll need to talk to Tariq"

"Later"

She dozed for a while as I held her, the next few weeks were going to be hard for her and I wanted her to be there to comfort, love and support her. By evening Jace had released Steph from the infirmary and we were now back in my apartment, I hadn't left her alone, working from the office there putting all the evidence together, but tomorrow was going to be a hard day. Santos had flown up to help along with Ram and everything was now in place, several meetings were scheduled in order for us to present the evidence and finally move everything behind us. Steph was very quiet, I didn't expect anything else but her land of denial wasn't enough this time, the dreams had come during the night, I'd left lights on in the apartment to help as she was afraid of the dark, but the dreams, or nightmares, were vicious. In the end Jace had prescribed something to help keep her calm that was all right for her to take while being pregnant. The morning seemed to come too soon and now I noticed that Steph was feeling nauseous when she woke up.

"Babe how you feeling?"

"Give me a few minutes and I'll be fine"

"Here, Jace suggested this ginger tea and crackers to help settle your stomach"

She turned her nose up at that but drank it.

"Not bad"

"We'll need to get an appointment booked to see a doctor"

"Let's get sorted first then we can do that"

Was she putting it off, probably, but I didn't want to push her. This morning Jace was taking her into Boston to show her around and to keep her occupied. I didn't want her to know who my first meeting was with, it could be difficult depending on how he reacted. At nine I received a call that Tariq had arrived and left the woman to go and meet him in my office, this was going to be hard, I wanted to speak with him first before he saw Steph.

"Morning Ranger, I hope this is as important as you made out in your phone call, I've had to leave Mia with Marta"

"It is Tariq, please let's sit down"

"So I take it you've made some headway?"

"Tariq what I have to say to you is going to be very hard"

"Spit it out"

"We brought Mayers in and Steph spoke with him, he had what he thought was a powerful weapon, but it was in fact not a working device. He was intending to kill someone"

"So you have him and this Colonel?"

"We have enough to take it to a higher authority"

"Who was Mayer after, the Colonel or me?"

"Neither of you, Tariq you weren't the intended target"

"So who was?"

"Khalid"

I knew that information wouldn't go down well and Tariq didn't disappoint.

"No, he died years ago in Riyadh"

"No, someone died but it wasn't Khalid"

He got up and started to pace the room, I couldn't imagine what was going through his mind, to have a child and be told he was dead, that was bad enough, but to then be told he alive. How on earth did you make sense of that? He stopped moving and came to sit down again, his look indicating he had come to some sort of decision.

"To me he died nine years ago, to Mia he never existed so he can rot in hell for all I care"

"You don't want to see him or talk with him?"

"No, he's dead to me. Why isn't Stephanie here to share that news with me I would have thought she should be here"

"Tariq what Khalid has done, was doing, was horrific and Steph walked into it, she's still struggling with what she saw. I won't have her upset by anyone and meeting with you would cause her distress. She didn't know if you would be angry at her"

"Angry at her, no I could never be angry at her. Was it her who realized Khalid was still alive?"

"Yeah, and that had her in a turmoil not knowing how you would react"

"Does she know I'm here?"

"No, I needed to gauge your reaction first"

"Then I'll leave and we'll pretend I was never here"

He got up from the chair and extended his hand to me, not exactly how I expected this meeting to go, but not totally surprised by his reaction.

"Thank you Ranger for taking the time for us to talk, if you get the opportunity tell Stephanie how I feel and that his name will never be mentioned again, especially not to Mia, she doesn't need to know any of this"

I shook his hand and led him to the door where one of the men was waiting to escort from the premises, not sure if we would be welcome to see Mia again, another hurdle to jump but not now. My next meeting was due in five minutes so I checked on my laptop where Steph and Jace were through her tracker, yeah call me paranoid, but I needed to know she was safe. In down town Boston, good, I knew Jace would be good company for her. Luke had put together several files to present along with the evidence now secured in the vault so onto the next meeting. This was taking place in the conference room where all of our research was still on display, and there would probably be a few high-ranking army officers involved. Luke was already there along with the uniforms showing the high ranks, no way was I going to bow down to them, I was a civilian now. The atmosphere was tense as I entered; Santos was there but had his head down, what the hell was wrong now. As I sat at the head of the table I latched onto the reason, there in a Captains uniform sat Aden Tanner. I was annoyed to say the least but somehow not surprised, hell I hope Steph doesn't come across him in this building.

"Captain Tanner, I think you owe Steph and me an explanation"

Yeah he was surprised I knew his name and even looked a bit guilty?

"I've been on this assignment for a long time Captain Manoso, the General here was suspicious that we were losing weapons so asked me to infiltrate the groups involved to try and backtrack what was going on and who was involved. I really am sorry that Steph got involved in this; she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but Omar, after seeing her at that park he must have decided that she would become part of his world. I had a foot in as many doors as I could, but I must admit I never thought I would be out smarted by her, she really is such a resilient woman. I always tried to keep her safe, but being hijacked in the desert was something I never accounted for and that is one of my greatest regrets"

I just looked at him along with Santos, if someone had told me he was undercover, well would it have made that much difference, but I knew Steph deserved to get some answers from him. I didn't respond to him there would be time for that later.

"General as you can see Rangeman has collected all the evidence for you to charge and arrest several people involved in this, two are downstairs waiting for you to decide what you want to do with them and we have a location for the Colonel and Miss Mayers"

The General looked up from the file and straight at me.

"Shit Ranger you've got to the bottom of this quickly, how the hell did you do it?"

"Stephanie Plum, she has the best instincts I've ever seen and can find a thread and follow it, she did all of the research you have"

"The woman Captain Tanner mentioned?"

"Yes"

"She needs to be here then in this meeting"

"Maybe, but she found that room in the house and was traumatized by what she saw, I'll need to speak with her first"

"Of course, we'll be here several hours going through all of this. Please bring her with you after lunch"

I was being dismissed from my own fucking meeting; I nodded at my men around the table and we stood up to leave, walking down the corridor in silence and into my office.

"Hector are we recording?"

"Si, audio and video"

"Good"

"Santos will you stop pacing"

"How can you sit there all calm after what he said?"

"Ever heard of the calm before the storm, because she just walked in"

I'd had one eye on the cameras within Rangeman and as I said that I could now hear Stephs laughter outside of my office door, it was good to hear her laugh but then I sobered when I thought of who was in the next room, how the hell was I going to tell her? She walked in with a smile on her face and then stopped, her laugh gone replaced with a frown.

"What's happened, why are you in here looking so miserable, did the meeting not go well?"

Santos looked at me as if was saying, you explain it to her, but Steph was quick to see his look and marched out of the room, where the hell was she going? Then it dawned on me, shit she wouldn't think twice about barging into a meeting especially if she thought we'd been thrown out. As I stood to follow her Santos got up as well, where did he think he was going?

"Oh no Ranger, I aint missing this"

I could hear Steph from the corridor and seeing as the men had stopped working so could they.

"Why aren't you talking with Ranger and his team?"

"What the hell is he doing here?"

"Why are you up here when you should be out there arresting people, especially him?"

"Miss Plum, maybe if"

"Don't you Miss Plum me, I want some answers, now"

"If you give us time then "

"Now"

Yeah she was shouting now and I could see her stood in the doorway, one hand on her hip and the other in the air pointing at the General.

"You, if you're in charge then start acting like it, get him out of here"

"Steph can I talk with you in private and explain?"

"Private, you have got to be kidding me, you have kidnapped me, drugged me, implanted trackers in me and you think you'll survive with me in private?"

I was behind her now and she stepped back, knowing I was there, relaxing slightly as I folded my arms around her waist.

"If you want to explain then you have ten minutes in his office, now"

Steph turned and as she passed me she winked at me, what was she up to, what did she know? Aden followed us out but was careful not to get too close to Steph; he sat in a chair opposite her as I sat down next to her.

"Babe do want Santos here?"

"Yes, why not, he's been messed around as well"

We all sat staring at Aden waiting for him to start his story; he looked uncomfortable and took his time before he began.

"I was assigned a year ago to find out how army weapons were ending up in enemy hands. I was undercover and spent six months tracking down Omar Hanbury, or Burhan as he called himself, as a person of interest for selling them across the middle east, but I didn't have the proof and couldn't get anything that told me where he'd got them from. When you turned up to work for him I had my concerns, he was too interested in you and I couldn't work out why. I made sure you were safe by driving you to and from the house but I didn't know he was planning to take you and Mia to Egypt. He told me to take you and Mia away from the house that night, he said he thought someone was after Mia and she needed to be safe. At the same time I'd tracked down Maria to Riyadh and knew she was keeping tabs on Omar, I'm pretty sure it was her who organized for you and Mia being kidnapped in the desert, I didn't suspect her of anything at the time but I didn't know about the uncle or who he was. I did a lot of research on you Steph, you know the Bombshell Bounty hunter and discovered how close you were to Ranger and Rangeman, at first I thought he was somehow involved so when I got out of the desert I got that job here to nosey around and planted some bugs around the building. I didn't know he was working on a special ops mission. I didn't realize you escaped or eventually ended up back in Trenton until I activated the tracker I gave you. I had orders from Omar to protect you and Mia, and then I got orders from Maria to bring you to Riyadh, that if I didn't there was someone else after you. So I took you to Riyadh, I'm sorry but I thought at least you'd be alive and safe there I never suspected that she was part of something so much more evil"

Steph was thinking through what he'd just said, oaky maybe he'd been an ass in how he dealt with things but I could see some of his logic.

"Why did you put the tracker in me?"

"To know where you were and that you were safe, I still couldn't work out the major players. I found out about her uncle when I took you there, that's when I started to pay more attention to him, but I still needed to find out who was selling the weapons to Omar"

"Were you part of the team that killed Omar?"

"No, I needed him alive"

"What about Mia?"

"Omar maybe never showed any love for her but he did in his own way, he would never have hurt her, I never realized he wasn't her father until I met up with Maria and she told me a different story. How the hell did you know it wasn't Maria in Riyadh? I mean she played the part so well"

"Instinct. So why do you have such a dodgy background?"

"The General changed it and then a good friend of his who owns an outfit agreed to throw off anyone who asked about me"

"So you've always worked special ops?"

"Yes. You know in that cemetery I actually started to think that you and Ranger were part of the whole scam, you certainly gave me a going over"

"Yeah well you're lucky Ranger was there"

"How did you find out about Mayers and then Khalid?"

I interrupted that question, we weren't here to answer his questions we were here for Steph to come to terms with what he had done to her.

"Read the file Tanner. Babe do you need to know anything else?"

She shook her head and turned to look at Tanner.

"You helped to ruin my life and at the same time helped me, I don't know what to think of your story, except to say maybe you should get a new profession, you suck at being in special ops"

"Couldn't agree with you more"

We all turned to see the General stood in the doorway, how long had he been stood there for, how much had he heard?

"Miss Plum I've read through all the reports and I have to say that how you worked through this conundrum has been outstanding, your thought processes in working it out are, mindboggling. Do you need a job?"

"No"

All three of us answered for her, me being the loudest, no way did I want her involved in special op jobs, not when I'd given it up to be with her. She laughed at the vehement response we gave and smiled at the General.

"No, but thank you for asking. Maybe if you want information finding then you can contract the work out through Rangeman"

"I'll keep that in mind. Now can we finish up and sort these prisoners out and get the other two?"

I held Steph back as the others made their way back to the conference room.

"Do you feel that all your questions are answered?"

"I don't know, I need to think through everything, I'm still mixed up"

"Babe, I spoke with Tariq this morning. I did it because I didn't want you to get upset. He wants for Khalid to remain dead as far as he and Mia are concerned"

"It probably hurts too much for him to acknowledge he's still alive and Mia, she doesn't need that kind of heartache. I can understand where he's coming from"

"Give him time and I'm sure he'll be open to you seeing Mia again"

She nodded and turned to go out of the door but before she left the room I wrapped my arms around her, rubbing my hand over her belly.

"How are my girls this morning?"

She turned and laughed.

"Boy, it's a boy"

I raised an eyebrow at that, maybe, but there sure as hell would be a girl, if I had anything to do with it.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

SPOV

By the following evening everything was quiet, the General had taken Khalid and Mayers into custody and plans were already underway to have Colonel Lexter and Lydia Mayers arrested. The General hinted that maybe Saudi Arabia officials would be dealing with Khalid and Lydia for their exploits in trafficking women and children. Ranger was at another building getting all the evidence and files ready to hand over. I was still trying to get my head round the fact that Aden was a good guy; maybe that's why my spidey senses hadn't picked up on him when I first met him. The device was on it's way back to wherever it needed to be so all was right with the world, then why did I still feel unsettled? I needed to lie on the bed and go through everything that had been said and put it into order. I moved from the couch into the bedroom and changed into joggers and a T-shirt then lay on the bed with my head at the foot of the bed and a pillow over my head. I still couldn't work out why Aden had taken me to Riyadh or who wanted me there and why. Was it Oliver Mayers because he wanted to get rid of me because I had seen him or was it Lydia because when I couldn't get Mia for her I was expendable, or was it Khalid because he had a thing for women who looked like me? I hadn't spoken to anyone about what I'd found in that room of his and still shuddered at the thought of it and it was always there at night in my dreams. Maybe I should talk through it with Ranger, maybe then I could move past it. I was stood at that door again, feeling afraid of what was inside, why was I turning the door handle, why was I going inside? The beam from the torch played across the wall in front of me, faces, so many faces looking at me. Children and young women, why did they look alike? They all had a similar look about them, all of them could be related, blue eyes and brown hair, some wore it long others shorter, some had it in waves and others like mine in curls, wait was that a photo of me? I almost missed it in the sea of faces. I was smiling looking to the side, where had I been when this was taken? There was blue skies and bright sunshine and there in the background was what looked like a large square stone. It was in Egypt at the pyramids, were we being followed? As the beam swept along the wall with all those faces I could hear a scratching noise and I shone the beam to where the noise had come from. My mouth went dry and my heart sped up at the carnage in front of me; women and children, or what was left of them had been placed, no dumped at one end of the room. Faces again looked out at me but these were grotesque, matted hair and black holes where eyes and noses should have been. Ragged clothes covered most of the skeletal remains but there were still remnants of skin and flesh and this was where the noise was coming from. A movement of material had me backing away and the appearance of shiny red eyes had me screaming.

RPOV

I'd been finalizing all the reports and evidence ready for it to be taken by the General, at last this whole affair was behind us, now we could get on with our lives. My phone rang and as I took it from my pocket I looked at the caller id. Iker, I wondered what he wanted?

"Ranger you've got to get up here, I can't wake her up, it's like she's trapped in a nightmare"

I disconnected, I didn't need to ask who he was talking about because I'd told him to check in on Steph when I was away from her. She had never talked about what she'd seen and when I'd tried to broach the subject with her she shut me down, refusing to even acknowledge what she'd seen. I'd been so worried about the dreams she was having, last night had been vicious for her, and it took me a long time to bring her out of it. I'd spoken with both Bobby and Jace, both of them saying the same, until Steph stopped trying to deny what she'd seen they would continue. Once parked in the garage I immediately went up to the apartment, Iker was with Steph in the bedroom trying to wake her, I went over to her and taking her in my arms lay down on the bed, holding her, caressing her and talking to her. Iker had left as soon as I arrived but I knew he would be getting Jace.

"Babe you've got to wake up, you're safe now"

Her screams had subsided and her sobbing was quieting as I rocked her and continued to talk to her.

"Babe, I'm here with you, you're safe now, and no one is going to hurt you"

Slowly she seemed to calm, I spied Jace in the doorway and shook my head, Steph wasn't in need of her now, I'd deal with it. The sobs had now abated and Steph seemed to be coming round.

"Babe, can you hear me?'

She nodded and buried her face into my chest.

"Babe you need to talk to me"

"I was so frightened, I've never been so afraid before"

"It's gone now"

"I know, but all those women and children, he killed them and I don't even want to think what he did to them before that"

"He was a monster Babe, and now he's being dealt with. What brought on the nightmare?"

"I was trying to put everything together in my head and I couldn't get it to fit"

"Which pieces Babe?"

"Why I ended up in Riyadh and all those faces in that room. I think I was in denial about what was right in front of me"

"What was that Babe?"

"I think Lydia was getting worried that Khalid would eventually turn on her and thought that if she had Mia he would see her as Maria who I think he really did love. I think losing her and the baby was what turned him, and Lydia was diverting him onto me. She wanted him to be obsessed with me and when he realized I wasn't Maria he'd kill me like he did with those other women"

"Do you think he would have stopped?"

"No, he would always be looking for Maria and his daughter and when they turned out to be someone else he would kill them"

"How do you feel now that you've talked it through?"

She scrunched her eyes up thinking of her answer before saying anything.

"Better, I still hate dark places and rats, but now that I can see what he was about and now that he's locked up I feel better"

"Good, you know I bet no one else has come up with why he behaved like he did, you amaze me Babe, and I love you more every day"

"I love you too, I love how you know me and know how I think and what I need"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

SPOV

Ranger, Santos, Ram, Hector and I were leaving this morning to head back to Trenton. I didn't know how I felt about that, nervous I suppose. I'd have to go see my mother and try to explain why I'd been away and get her to understand that Morelli was out of my life. Did I tell her about Ranger and me being pregnant? Not yet, one thing at a time, get our relationship back on an even keel and then I would tell her. Ranger had said to just tell her I'd been working. That brought up another problem, I had no job and didn't relish the idea of going back to my apartment; in fact I'd almost come to the decision that I wasn't going to.

"You ready to leave Babe?"

I didn't realize he was there.

"I'm ready"

"What were you thinking about?"

"My mother and how weird it's going to be being back in Trenton"

"We'll work it out, remember we're going away for a break so think about where you want to go"

A break away, I hadn't been home and he was asking me to go away with him again. Where did I want to go? No idea, I'd think about that after all the other things I had to do were finished. Ranger had a private jet organized for us to get back to Trenton; he said that at least there wouldn't be any hassle with weapons or equipment. I had to smile when I saw Tank and Hal waiting for us at the airport and almost jumped for joy when I saw Binkie squeeze himself out of the Porsche Turbo.

"I thought we'd make the most of the time using it while you can still get in and out of it"

"I never thought about that, I'm going to get fat aren't I?"

"No, you're going to grow round, carrying our daughter"

"Son"

"We'll see, doctors appointment tomorrow afternoon"

Shit I'd forgotten about that, I'd only just got used to the idea of being pregnant, hell a few months ago I'd have panicked especially if it was Morellis, but now, I liked the idea of carrying Rangers baby, his son. I didn't like how it made me feel, I got tired a lot and certain foods made me feel nauseous, mornings were the worse and morning sickness seemed to have arrived with a vengeance, Jace had said it would pass, not get worse. If Ranger was worried about my weight before he was paranoid now always trying to find me food that didn't make me feel like throwing up. As I settled down into the luxury of the leather seats and inhaled the smell that was Ranger I felt content and relaxed. Ranger bent over and kissed my stomach before putting the car in gear and driving away from the airport, yeah I fell asleep.

"Where are we?"

"Home"

"But?"

"Come on sleeping beauty lets get out of the car first, then you can ask questions"

I blinked again as I saw the walls of a garage surrounding us, then opened my eyes in shock at the sight of the black Mustang parked at the far side. Where the hell were we?

My door opened and Ranger helped me out and with an arm around my waist led me to a large white door. Of course he used a fob to open it and guided me through an entrance way and into a large lobby. There was a door leading off from here and then stairs that went up to next floor. This felt familiar, as did the small windows at the top of the walls, but the layout was just all wrong. The stairs led us into an enormous kitchen and dining area, separated with glass blocks from a lounge area decked out with couches and a TV. There were large glass doors at the end of the lounge that I was drawn to look out of. Wow, a balcony the width of the building and a spiral staircase going down into a beautiful garden. Ranger pulled me away from the windows and up another flight of stairs into a hallway whose ceiling went up to the roof. Doors stood open waiting for me to explore.

"I've only had two rooms done out so far"

A master bedroom, complete with a king size bed and a small table and chairs. The colors were beautiful, soft blues, grey and white highlighted through the cushions and throws on the bed and the material of the chairs.

"Is this, it can't be?"

"You said you felt it was the right place to live, so I've had Ella managing the workmen to follow the plans I'd drawn up years ago"

"It's beautiful, how did it end up with a garden?"

"I owned the warehouses around it so demolished a few, there are some still being renovated for living in, for when we have people staying with us"

I opened a door and found the bathroom, a dark grey slate floor and white units holding two sinks, a walk in shower and an enormous tub, and a toilet as well. The white tiled walls showed off the dark blue towels and robes hanging here and pictures of the sea.

"Your closet"

I laughed then stood in shock at the array of clothes already hanging up in there.

"Ella went a little mad, all the labels are on if you don't like them, there's also some maternity wear in there as well"

Who wouldn't like them, Ella had great taste in clothes but how much did this lot cost?

"Babe, what's mine is yours so don't even start to think like that"

He knew me so well. I wondered into the next room and felt tears form in my eyes, a nursery, not finished but the furniture was all here, all white with pale grey walls and across one wall was a painted mural depicting batman and wonder woman.

"Once we know for certain she's a girl we can choose the rest of the furnishings.

"Boy"

He laughed and pulled me into his arms, he moaned as his face caressed mine.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it"

"It's in your name"

"What is?"

"The property"

"But why?"

"Because I'm never going to leave you and you won't leave here"

Now the tears fell making their way down my cheeks.

"I'm never going to leave you either, so I guess we'll grow old here together"

"True, now we need to get to the doctors"

Ah shit, somewhere I didn't want to go, and I didn't know why.

As we sat in the car I didn't know who was the most shocked, judging from the grin on Rangers face it was probably me. How the hell had that happened? No, I know how I got pregnant but twins! And not identical twins, each had their own little sac to grow in. The doctor had been really nice; her smile was relaxing and even when she had to do all the tests she made me relax. Of course having Ranger there was probably the real reason. But twins!

"Babe, you've gone pale, are you feeling all right, we can go back inside if you you're not"

"Twins"

"You'll be fine, there are lots of people who'll help out"

"Twins!"

"Babe, I'll be with you every step of the way, you're going to be fine"

Fine, I was going to be enormous and fat and, I'd have to give birth twice.

"Babe I want to ask you a serious question"

Oh shit, had he changed his mind, I mean having one kid running around was manageable but two!

"Babe when the twins are born I want the name of their mother to be mine, I know you agreed to marry me, but I want to get married soon"

I looked at him and saw just how nervous he was asking me that. Did I want to get married, hell yes, did I want to get married before they were born, hell yes and I wanted to get married before I was so big that I couldn't find a dress to fit.

"Yes"

"Yes what?"

"Lets get married soon"

He smiled and leaned over the console; taking my face in his hands he gently kissed my lips.

"I'm so proud of you Babe, I love you very much"

"I love you as well"

Yeah I think I was proud myself, but now we were going to be headed to my parents' house.

"Ranger can we not tell them I'm pregnant yet, I think I just want to get through this first visit?"

"No problem, I'm there with you so when you want to leave just say"

My parents didn't know I was going to be visiting, that way I wouldn't get harassed into eating dinner there. Certain foods still made me feel sick and to be honest over the past weeks my diet had changed a lot. Even the idea of roast anything and mashed potatoes made me nauseous. It was mid afternoon so everyone should be home at least I hoped Grandma would be, I'd missed her the most. Ranger parked outside the house and came around to open my door; I sat there not wanting to move.

"Come on, the sooner we go in the sooner we can leave"

He helped me out and as I stepped onto the pavement the front door opened, my mother was stood there, mouth set and a scowl on her face. Wouldn't you think she'd be pleased to see me?

"Hi mum"

"Stephanie Plum don't you hi me, where have you been, the neighbors are saying you ran away from the police and are now in jail"

"Nice to see you too mum"

She wasn't fazed by that comment and instead she just about dragged me into the house and tried to close the door on Ranger.

"Stop mother. Ranger is here with me"

The look on her face as she allowed Ranger through the door had me fuming.

"Oh, I thought he was dropping you off, shall I call Joseph to come over?"

"No, why would I want him here?"

"Well he said he wanted to marry you and now you're back"

"I am not marrying him"

"Of course you are, I'm arranging it with his mother

"What does Joe say about you two interfering?"

"His mother is dealing with him"

"When I want to get married I'll do it without you interfering"

I didn't want her anywhere near my wedding, her whole attitude toward me screamed that she wasn't interested in me but what the neighbors thought, not once had she asked how I was or if I'd enjoyed myself. What was it about Morelli that she was so hung up about?

"Mum, I just called in to say hello and say I'm fine"

"Are you staying for dinner?"

Was that her way of saying she missed me? No probably her way of trying to control me.

"No mum, just a flying visit"

"Well I'll expect you next week to sort out things for the wedding"

"No, there will not be a wedding"

"Stephanie Plum why are you being so stubborn, it's your duty as a Burg daughter, so deal with it"

"Well I'm sorry, but I need to go now"

"Stephanie Plum if you walk out of that door with that thug then don't expect to be welcome here again"

I looked toward Ranger who looked to be getting annoyed, strange how over the weeks we'd been together I could tell what mood he was in. He held out his hand for mine and we walked out of the door, without another word. I was shaking, I was that annoyed with her; how dare she plan a wedding that I didn't want any part of? And then to threaten to disown me if I didn't go through with it, what sort of mother was she? Oh god I hope I'll be better than her, and treat my children with love ,affection and respect them for who they were.

"Babe you need to keep yourself calm, it's not good for you or the babies"

"I know, but I'm so angry with her. Why is she so fixated on Morelli?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure Morelli isn't part of it"

"Should we go visit him and find out?"

"If you want to"

He started the car and drove toward Morelli's house as we approached the street all I could think of was the times Morelli and I had argued or he had screamed at me when he came to an incident involving me. Ranger parked and got out of the car then crouched down when he'd opened my door.

"Babe if it gets too heated in there or you get upset I'm bringing you out, okay?"

I nodded at him knowing that he was concerned for me. At the door Morelli opened it and turned for us to follow him, he sat on a chair while Ranger and I sat together on the couch.

"Cu, Steph, I'm sorry about how I treated you when we took you in to the police station, I was so angry at you for being in trouble again, I'm sorry"

Well at least he had admitted he was in the wrong, but that wasn't why I was here.

"Joe my mother says she and your mother are planning our wedding, what's that all about?"

"What? I am planning on getting married, but what the hell has your mother got to do with it?"

He stood up and then started to laugh and seemed as though he couldn't stop. Both Ranger and I were just staring at him, what did he think was so funny?

"Oh god Steph, I'm sorry. Word must have got out that my girlfriend is pregnant and everyone probably assumed it was you"

"Girlfriend? Pregnant?"

"Yeah, I'm going to marry Natasha"

"Wow, congratulations. So you're letting your mother plan the wedding?"

"Hell no, we're off to Vegas at the weekend, no way am I letting my mother get involved"

"When will you tell your mother?"

"Monday when we get back, Natasha's moving in here then"

I stood up and went over to Morelli and wrapped my arms around him, relieved that we'd sorted things out'

"Joe I'm glad you've found someone and that she'll give you what you want. Stay in touch, we were always good as friends"

"Thanks Steph, I do love you, but now I've found Natasha I realize it wasn't enough, I love her very much"

As I moved away from Morelli Ranger stood and extended his hand.

"Good luck Morelli, I hope you'll both be very happy"

I was smiling as we left his house, his street and the Burg, at least I had found out why my mother was so determined to get me married off, but I still felt that she didn't loved me enough to ask me, talk to me, hell ask me what I wanted and I certainly didn't want her anywhere near my wedding. Vegas was maybe for Morelli and Natasha but I didn't like that idea. I wanted somewhere quiet and private with maybe a few close friends there to share our day.

"I smell burning Babe, do you want a wedding in Vegas?"

"No, I was thinking just the opposite. I'd like somewhere quiet and private with maybe a few close friends"

"Would you let me plan something?"

I turned to him, he would know what I would like, maybe if he did the planning all I would have to do was be there in a dress of my choice.

"Babe?"

"Yes I think I would"

"Then that's what we'll do"

And just like that we were getting married.


	19. Chapter 19

Epilogue

I was sat in the garden making the most of a few minutes peace and quiet; I couldn't believe a year had past by since Vinnie had told me he was closing down. So much had happened since then. I still remembered the bad parts but they were fading as I rejoiced in the good ones. True to his word Ranger, no Carlos because that was who he was to me now, had organized our wedding day. What a day that had been. I'd taken Ella with me to New York to find a wedding dress and when I saw it I knew it was the one for me. So I had walked out of our house at 3pm on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in my beautiful dress. It was a soft material the color of ivory with a skirt that went to the floor made from tulle that swept out from a body hugging bodice with a sweetheart neckline and halter straps. My hair was in curls, just as Carlos liked it with a jasmine hairpiece to one side. What a surprise I got when Mia and Julie stepped from the side of the door and walked in front of me, down the path to the gazebo that had been built, adorned with jasmine. I only had eyes for the man stood waiting for me, in his black suit and somehow a shirt the same color as my dress! The service was simple and emotional, for both of us, and as we turned as husband and wife tears came to my eyes as I looked out on our guests. My Merry Men were there in force but it was the sight of Grandma that had tears coming to my eyes, Carlos always knew exactly what I needed and her being here was exactly that. Neither of our parents was invited, Carlos saying they could watch the DVD we would send to them. But Lula, Connie and importantly Mary Lou were there to join us. It was an amazing day and one I will cherish forever.

The weeks flew by after that, the General contracted Rangeman out to follow up on investigative work, which I thoroughly enjoyed and it allowed Iker to be in the field more. I'd spent hours debating how I could thank those people in Iraq for their strength and support and in the end Lester had delivered my choices himself. A foot powered sewing machine for Sona and a gas cooker along with a supply of gas canisters as well as new pots and pans. For Ras Carlos helped me to find the most up to date GPS system that also had Internet capacity along with solar chargers. For Suzie we donated a large sum of money specifically aimed at the group who worked in the community by the Lebanese border and for Taha a laptop computer and solar charger. Needles to say Carlos was very attentive, as I grew bigger, but we both agreed to wait until the babies were born to discover the sex of them and because of the damage I'd done to my pelvis the doctor decided that a caesarian section was going to have to happen. That was okay with me, and four days after the date that we had been given to attend the hospital we came home with two beautiful babies. My thoughts were disturbed by footsteps coming down the spiral staircase and as I turned there was Carlos and Lester, each with a baby in their arms. Jasmine was in her father's arms and Matias was handed to me. We had both been blessed with two adorable children.


End file.
